The rat model of alcohol seeking described by Giuliano and colleagues (this issue)—we will refer to it as the Giuliano model—is part of a welcome trend toward animal models that incorporate two cardinal features of human addiction, which are as follows: (a) the use of drugs despite an unfavorable ratio of benefits to harms and (b) the fact that only a minority of drug users become addicted.

Rats in the Giuliano model were trained on a chained schedule of reinforcement, so their seeking of alcohol (via a lever that made a second lever accessible) could be tested and manipulated separately from their taking of alcohol (via the second lever, which brought the opportunity to drink). The model was intended to provide a platform whereby interventions could break the seeking/taking chain at the earliest possible point.

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