Striatal Mechanisms of Ethanol Seeking

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Project Summary/Abstract Habitual behavior does not require an explicit representation of the goal, but is triggered by automatic responses to the stimuli that previously were paired with alcohol reward. The exact time course of this transition has not been defined for alcohol self-administration, however, there are well-defined tests for whether instrumental behavior is goal-directed or habitual that can be used to determine whether or not self-administration is habitual. The current proposal seeks to test the hypothesis that alcohol self-administration after extended training will display the hallmarks of a habitual behavior. As conditioned cues also play a major role in relapse, we will also test the effects of alcohol-predictive cues after extended alcohol self-administration training. The reliance of alcohol-seeking, including that promoted by cues, on dorsal striatal circuitry will be probed.