Forced ethanol drinking for several days and application of ethanol to cell cultures changes expression levels of various NMDA receptor subunits in rodents. Therefore, we investigated the influence of long-term voluntary ethanol consumption on the expression of NMDA receptor 2B (NR2B) subunits in several forebrain regions of rats [corrected]. This result is in accordance with and extends findings from studies using high doses of ethanol for a short period and suggests that the NR2B might be a potential target for an effective treatment of alcoholic patients.