In addition, chronic alcohol exposure has been shown to alter various neuropeptide systems (e.g., corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), neuropeptide Y and nociceptin; Cowen and Lawrence, 2006; Ciccocioppo et al., 2009; Koob, 2010) that may contribute to the development of alcohol dependence and/or negative affective states. Here, CRH is linked to alcohol dependence.