Voluntary adolescent drinking enhances excitation by low levels of alcohol in a subset of dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area

NEUROPHARMACOLOGY

卷:110

Article

Avegno, Elizabeth M.¹  Sailing, Michael C.²  Borgkvist, Anders³  Mrejeru, Ana³  Whitebirch, Alexander C.⁵  Margolis, Elyssa B.⁶  Sulzer, David^1,3,4  Harrison, Neil L.^1,2 

[1] Columbia Univ, Coll Phys & Surg, Dept Pharmacol, New York, NY 10032 USA

[2] Columbia Univ, Coll Phys & Surg, Dept Anesthesiol, New York, NY 10032 USA

[3] Columbia Univ, Coll Phys & Surg, Dept Neurol, New York, NY 10032 USA

[4] Columbia Univ, Coll Phys & Surg, Dept Psychiat, New York State Psychiat Inst, New York, NY 10032 USA

[5] Columbia Univ, Coll Phys & Surg, Dept Neurobiol, New York, NY 10032 USA

[6] Univ Calif San Francisco, Dept Neurol, Wheeler Ctr Neurobiol, Addict Alcoholism & Addict Res Grp, San Francisco, CA 94143 USA

关键词: Ethanol self-administration;    Dopamine;    Electrophysiology;    Ventral tegmental area;    Adolescence;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.neuropharm.2016.07.031

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

Enhanced dopamine (DA) neurotransmission from the ventral tegmental area (VTA) to the ventral striatum is thought to drive drug self-administration and mediate positive reinforcement. We examined neuronal firing rates in slices of mouse midbrain following adolescent binge-like alcohol drinking and find that prior alcohol experience greatly enhanced the sensitivity to excitation by ethanol itself (10-50 mM) in a subset of ventral midbrain DA neurons located in the medial VTA. This enhanced response after drinking was not associated with alterations of firing rate or other measures of intrinsic excitability. In addition, the phenomenon appears to be specific to adolescent drinking, as mice that established a drinking preference only after the onset of adulthood showed no change in alcohol sensitivity. Here we demonstrate not only that drinking during adolescence induces enhanced alcohol sensitivity, but also that this DA neuronal response occurs over a range of alcohol concentrations associated with social drinking in humans. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

【 授权许可】

Free