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Diversity of Animal Models of Aggression: Their Impact on the Putative Alcohol/Aggression Link
Paul F. Brain, Rafael Lujan Miras, Michael S. Berry
Many attempts have been made to model the putative link between alcohol and aggression using a variety of situations employing a wide range of animal species. In general, these attempts have proved somewhat disappointing. One reason for this appears to be the fact that the different aggression tests tap varied mixtures of offensive, defensive and predatory motivations (i.e., they are not homogenous). Indeed, one can make the claim that the majority of examples of aggression associated with alcohol-ingesting humans are inappropriate (nonadaptive) responses whereas many animal models tap adaptive territorial or socially competitive actions. A further problem is that alcohol has very wide-ranging effects on neurophysiology and endocrine functioning. Recent evidence from studies on infra-human animals and clinical situations suggests that some of alcohol's effects on social conflict are expressed by actions in signaling and perception rather than motivation. This aspect is briefly examined in some studies with laboratory mice. (J. Stud. Alcohol, Supplement No. 11: 140-145, 1993)
