The biologists in my lab study the effects of ethanol (alcohol) on the brain. To do this they have to come up with animal based experiments to model various alcohol based conditions. One of these models is known as the alcohol deprivation effect (ADE). What it models is the possible increase in alcohol craving or consumption after a period of withdrawal (deprivation).
One such experiment may expose mice to a volunteer intake of ethanol. Then after a measured amount of time (i.e. two weeks) the ethanol is taken away (i.e. another two weeks); this is known as the deprivation period. Once the deprivation period is over the mouse is reintroduced to choice bottle drinking of ethanol versus a plain solution. This gives the researcher a variety of things to study (i.e. average amount of ethanol consumed, ratio of ethanol versus plain solution consumed, etc).
