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Psychosocial stressors increase alcohol consumption in some mice — and in some humans, particularly adolescents. These researchers examined the interaction of this vulnerability with period 1 (Per1), a circadian rhythm gene that is activated by corticotropins and is hypothesized to integrate responses to stress.
These investigators examined alcohol consumption after three different stressors (social defeat, swim stress, and foot shock) in mutant mice lacking functional Per1 genes and in wild-type controls. In addition, the researchers assessed 273 human adolescents for alcohol consumption, psychosocial adversity, and Per1 polymorphisms, and examined Per1 polymorphisms in 1006 alcohol-dependent patients and 1178 nonpsychiatric comparison subj…