Despite the prevalence and devastating impact of alcohol use disorder (AUD), treatment options remain inadequate with only three United States (U.S.) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved pharmacotherapies and limited efficacy across patient populations. Thus, development of new pharmacotherapies is necessary. Of crucial importance in designing such therapies are optimized preclinical, animal models for assessment of potential pharmacotherapies, including translationally relevant routes of administration and incorporation of the complex interactions of alcohol-related behaviors with the social environment. In this dissertation, I sought to further the translational relevance of the results by administering OXT intranasally, in line with human clinical trials. I aimed to characterize the behavioral mechanisms by recapitulating scenarios human patients face during medication-assisted maintenance of abstinence.