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  • Title: Chronic intermittent ethanol exposure dysregulates a GABAergic microcircuit in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis.
    Author: Pati D, Marcinkiewcz CA, DiBerto JF, Cogan ES, McElligott ZA, Kash TL.
    Journal: Neuropharmacology; 2020 May 15; 168():107759. PubMed ID: 31494142.
    Abstract:
    Neuroadaptations in brain regions that regulate emotional and reward-seeking behaviors have been suggested to contribute to pathological behaviors associated with alcohol-use disorder. One such region is the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), which has been linked to both alcohol consumption and alcohol withdrawal-induced anxiety and depression. Recently, we identified a GABAergic microcircuit in the BNST that regulates anxiety-like behavior. In the present study, we examined how chronic alcohol exposure alters this BNST GABAergic microcircuit in mice. We selectively targeted neurons expressing corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) using a CRF-reporter mouse line and combined retrograde labeling to identify BNST projections to the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and lateral hypothalamus (LH). Following 72 h of withdrawal from four weekly cycles of chronic intermittent ethanol (CIE) vapor exposure, the excitability of a sub-population of putative local CRF neurons that did not project to either VTA or LH (CRFnon-VTA/LH neurons) was increased. Withdrawal from CIE also increased excitability of non-CRF BNST neurons that project to both LH and VTA (BNSTnon-CRF-proj neurons). Furthermore, both populations of neurons had a reduction in spontaneous EPSC amplitude while frequency was unaltered. Withdrawal from chronic alcohol was accompanied by a significant increase in spontaneous IPSC frequency selectively in the BNSTnon-CRF-proj neurons. Together, these data suggest that withdrawal from chronic ethanol dysregulates local CRF-GABAergic microcircuit to inhibit anxiolytic outputs of the BNST which may contribute to enhanced anxiety during alcohol withdrawal and drive alcohol-seeking behavior. This article is part of the special issue on 'Neuropeptides'.
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