Persistent escalation of alcohol consumption by mice exposed to brief episodes of social defeat stress: suppression by CRF-R1 antagonism

Rationale Episodic bouts of social stress can precede the initiation, escalation, or relapse to disordered alcohol intake. Social stress may engender neuroadaptations in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and in extrahypothalamic stress circuitry to promote the escalation of alcohol intake.