Pilot 4 - Developmental Exposure Alcohol Research Center

最近的数据表明K阿片系统在婴儿期和幼年期对乙醇的接受和强化 成人期。药理阻断K阿片受体增强乙醇摄取和增强特性 在成年啮齿动物中，K受体的内源性活性对于婴儿发现酒精的食欲是必不可少的。 此外，K阿片系统的激活对成年大鼠是有害的。相比之下，在幼年大鼠中，中枢 这一系统的激活是极其有力的。目前的提议将检验K阿片类药物 在第一和第二之间，系统从调节乙醇的胃口特性切换到厌恶特性 出生后一周，这种个体发育转换发生在K阿片类药物激活的激发特性时 变得令人厌恶，而不是贪婪。最后，中枢乙醇后K阿片系统的变化 将在出生后的头两周评估给药情况。

Recent data implicate the K opioid system in ethanol acceptance and reinforcement during infancy and adulthood. Pharmacological blockade of K opioid receptors enhances ethanol intake and reinforcing properties in adult rodents, whereas endogenous activity at K receptors is essential for infants to find ethanol appetitive. Furthermore, activation of the K opioid system is aversive for adult rats. In contrast, in infant rats, central activation of this system is extremely reinforcing. The present proposal will test the hypothesis that the K opioid system switches from mediating appetitive to aversive properties of ethanol between the first and the second postnatal week and that this ontogenetic switch occurs when motivational properties of K opioid activation become aversive instead of appetitive. Finally, changes in the K opioid system following central ethanol administration will be assessed during the first two weeks of postnatal life.