Ethanol Sensitization in Mice

滥用药物的奖赏、兴奋和成瘾特性通常与细胞外多巴胺（DA）水平的升高有关。运动刺激剂量的乙醇产生腹侧被盖区DA细胞体的活化，这导致终末区域（如纹状体和丘脑核）中细胞外DA水平增加。致敏是指通过重复乙醇注射产生的增强的运动刺激。据推测，细胞外DA水平的增加与乙醇的自发致敏平行发生。但事实上，没有文献记载乙醇致敏后细胞外DA水平的变化。了解DA神经化学背后 乙醇致敏是重要的，因为行为致敏的过程被认为有助于成瘾的发展。本研究的目的是评估致敏后不同时间间隔C57 BI/6 J小鼠中脑延髓核内DA的动态变化。具体而言，自由移动的小鼠中的微透析和脑切片中的伏安法将被用来详细检查DA系统的功能。我们假设DA和运动参数将平行敏感。

The rewarding, hyperlocomotive and addictive properties of drugs of abuse are often associated with an elevation in extracellular dopamine (DA) levels. Locomotor stimulating doses of ethanol produce activation of DA cell bodies in the ventral tegmental area, which leads to increased extracellular DA levels in the terminal fields, such as the striatum and nucleus accumbens. Sensitization refers to an augmented locomotor stimulation produced by repeated ethanol injections. It has been assumed that increases in extracellular DA levels occur in parallel with locomotor sensitization to ethanol. But in fact, there is no literature documenting changes in extracellular DA levels after ethanol sensitization. Understanding the DA neurochemistry behind ethanol sensitization is important because the process of behavioral sensitization has been suggested to contribute to the development of addiction. The goal of this research is to evaluate DA dynamics in the nucleus accumbens of C57BI/6J mice at several time intervals after sensitization. Specifically, microdialysis in freely moving mice and voltammetry in brain slices will be employed to examine the function of the DA system in detail. We postulate that DA and locomotor parameters will sensitize in parallel.