Altered neural oscillations and elevated dopamine levels in the reward pathway during alcohol relapse.
Behav Brain Res
; 316: 131-135, 2017 01 01.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-27569184
ABSTRACT
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a severe chronic condition characterized by compulsive alcohol use, cravings and high relapse rates even after long periods of abstinence. It is suggested that alterations in neuronal network activity, especially in the reward pathway accompany or even mediate relapse behavior. Here we used a DSM-based rat model to map in a first set of experiments neurochemical alterations in the reward pathway during alcohol relapse. Compared to the abstinence condition, we found specific elevation of dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens shell and the medial prefrontal cortex. We then conducted local field potential (LFP) recordings in these brain sites and observed decreased low-beta oscillatory activity in the nucleus accumbens shell and increased high beta activity in the medial prefrontal cortex. In conclusion, as in comparison with abstinence from alcohol, alcohol relapse is associated with enhanced dopamine levels in the mesolimbic system and an inverse correlation between ß oscillatory activity and dopamine availability in the nucleus accumbens shell. These findings suggest that during a relapse situation reduced synchronous oscillatory activity of the local neural population in the nucleus accumbens shell occurs. This local neural population presumably relates to dopaminoceptive medium spiny neurons that show reduced synchronicity during a relapse situation.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Recompensa
/
Ritmo beta
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Dopamina
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Vias Neurais
Tipo de estudo:
Prognostic_studies
Limite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2017
Tipo de documento:
Article