Alpha-1-Adrenergic Receptor Mediated Long Term Depression in the BNST

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Stress and anxiety are two factors that contribute to the prevalence of alcoholism in our society. The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) is a region of the brain where reward circuitry and stress pathways converge, and where it has been shown that ethanol increases Fos activity. Additionally, the BNST is heavily innervated by adrenergic afferents that are involved in behavioral paradigms of stress induced reinstatement of drug seeking. These afferents modulate the HPA axis via the aradrenergic receptor (ch-AR) under conditions of prolonged psychological stress. Furthermore, it has recently been shown that antagonizing the arAR in ethanol dependent animals experiencing withdrawal attenuates self administration. I have recently described a long term depression (LTD) of glutamatergic inputs into the BNST that is mediated by Qi-AR activation. Using electrophysiological, genetic and pharmacological approaches I will characterize arAR-LTD (Aim 1) and investigate the synaptic maintenance mechanism by which activation of the ch-AR produces LTD (Aim 2). Furthermore, I will test the hypothesis that arAR-LTD is activated in vivo in animals experiencing withdrawal from chronic intermittent ethanol exposure (CIE) and that this functionally alters HPA axis output and anxiety (Aim 3). Alcohol abuse costs the United States of America over one hundred billion of dollars annually in lost wages, health care, prison/institutional and other socio-economic costs. Stress and anxiety are two factors known to impact drinking behavior and can often contribute to consumption in an addicted state. It is beneficial to society, therefore, to gain a greater understanding of how stress and anxiety affect the brain of alcoholics and, thus, to find pharmacological targets for therapies to halt the progression of this terrible affliction.