{
  "abstract": "Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is marked by substantial heterogeneity in drinking behaviors and health outcomes, underscoring the need for preclinical models that capture interindividual variability. We recently developed open-source capacitive lickometer systems for high-resolution monitoring of mouse fluid intake. Using LIQ PARTI and LIQ HD, we found substantial individual differences in alcohol intake that varied across sex and housing status in C57Bl/6 J mice. Here, we conducted an expanded secondary analysis of this continuous access ethanol drinking data to quantify behavioral variability in group- and singly-housed mice. We introduce a fluid “meal” analysis that integrates drinking across ethanol and water sippers to define discrete drinking episodes. Using this approach, we observed sex- and housing-dependent reorganization of drinking structure across group- and single-housed settings, with group-housed males exhibiting fewer but faster liquid meals. To further characterize multidimensional drinking patterns, we applied principal component analysis to meal variables and identified a “distributed meal” phenotype defined by more meals, reduced meal size, earlier drinking onset, and higher ethanol preference, that segregates by sex. Considering factors that influence behaviors in a social environment, we next examined whether social hierarchy was associated with these patterns using a tube test dominance assay. Social rank was unrelated to ethanol and meal measures; however, offensive dominance behavior positively correlated with principal component scores in males. Together, these findings demonstrate that high-resolution, longitudinal analysis of ethanol drinking reveals distinct behavioral phenotypes that are associated with key components of social behaviors, providing a potential framework for understanding heterogeneity in AUD-related drinking.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Neurobiology, UMass Chan Medical School, USA; Brudnick Neuropsychiatric Research Institute, UMass Chan Medical School, USA; Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, USA; Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research, Vanderbilt University, USA",
    "Department of Neurobiology, UMass Chan Medical School, USA; Brudnick Neuropsychiatric Research Institute, UMass Chan Medical School, USA",
    "Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research, Vanderbilt University, USA",
    "Department of Neurobiology, UMass Chan Medical School, USA; Brudnick Neuropsychiatric Research Institute, UMass Chan Medical School, USA; Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, USA; Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research, Vanderbilt University, USA; Corresponding author at: UMass Chan Medical School, 366 Plantation Street, N7.1001, Worcester, MA 01605-2324."
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 6,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Marie A. Doyle"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Caitlyn M. Edwards"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Sabrina D. Hallal"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Samuel M. Bond"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Nicholas Petersen"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Danny G. Winder"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9bfgar0mj9f5f.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1016/j.addicn.2026.100290",
  "fulltext_url": "http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772392526000428",
  "id": "9bfgar0mj9f5f",
  "issns": [
    "2772-3925"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addicn.2026.100290",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "lcc",
      "RC321-571"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2804|Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7221782661",
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-30",
  "publisher": "Elsevier",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9bfgar0mj9f5f.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T13:43:31Z",
      "native_id": "3eee74a0838345f5bcb1e7d297711ef9",
      "source": "doaj",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addicn.2026.100290"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:2804|Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior",
      "subfield": "neuroscience"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Individual differences in ethanol drinking meal structure are shaped by social environments",
  "title_text": "Individual differences in ethanol drinking meal structure are shaped by social environments",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T13:43:31Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9bfgar0mj9f5f",
  "venue": "Addiction Neuroscience",
  "versions": []
}