270 male Ss of the C57BL/6 and DBA/2 inbred mouse strains and of the F1 hybrid of these 2 were trained and tested in a passive-avoidance task under 0-3 gm/kg doses of ethanol. The C57 Ss performed better in acquisition at higher alcohol doses than either the DBA or hybrid Ss. The hybrids showed retention the following day at higher doses than either of the parental strains. The DBA and C57 Ss showed evidence of state-dependent learning at some alcohol doses while the hybrid mice did not. Low doses markedly disinhibited DBA mice in initial exploratory behavior, so that they became identical in this parameter to the other strains which were not so affected. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)