Amygdala and Striatal Neural Circuits Controlling Alcohol Intake

项目摘要/摘要 虽然相当大的努力已经集中在调节食欲或奖赏的神经生物回路上 寻求，关于酒精自我管理的方面，我们对调节酒精自我管理的回路的理解 消耗性方面--实际的酒精摄入量本身--更为有限。因此，研究建议 在这一应用中，试图定义控制酒精摄入量的神经回路。这些研究建立在过去的基础上 伏隔核和杏仁中央核在两者中的作用 进食和饮酒。这些区域和选定的传入和传出的贡献将是 用光遗传学来确定激活或抑制神经元群体或特定神经投射， 并使用钙成像来询问这些神经元件的活动，在线索诱导和 自发性饮酒。此外，这些研究还将考察既往酒精依赖的影响。 关于伏隔核和杏仁中央核的作用，因为有强有力的证据证明酒精- 在这些延伸的杏仁核区域诱导神经适应。这些研究代表着重要的步骤 慢性酒精中毒后功能可能发生改变的消费回路的规范 可能是酒精摄入量过高或增加的神经生物学介质。

Project Summary/Abstract While considerable effort has been focused upon the neurobiological circuits mediating appetitive, or reward seeking, aspects on alcohol self-administration, our understanding of the circuits that mediate the consummatory aspects – the actual alcohol intake itself – is more limited. Therefore, the studies proposed in this application seek to define the neural circuits that control alcohol intake. These studies build on past work supporting a role for the nucleus accumbens and the amygdala central nucleus both in both natural feeding and in alcohol intake. The contribution of these regions and selected afferents and efferents will be determined using optogenetics to activate or suppress neuronal populations or specific neural projections, and using calcium imaging to query the activity of these neural elements, during cue-elicited and spontaneous alcohol intake. In addition, these studies will examine the impact of prior alcohol dependence on the role of the accumbens and the amygdala central nucleus given the strong evidence for alcohol- induced neuroadaptations in these extended amygdala regions. These studies represent important steps towards specification of consummatory circuits whose function may change after chronic alcohol representing a possible neurobiological mediator of excessive or escalated alcohol intake.