Chronic alcohol exposure can cause dramatic behavioral alterations, including increased anxiety-like behavior and depression. These alterations are proposed to be due in part to adaptations in the brain regions that regulate emotional behavior, including the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), a principal output nucleus of the amygdala. However, to date there have been no studies that have examined the impact of in vivo alcohol exposure on synaptic function in the BNST. To better understand how alcohol can alter neuronal function, we examined the ability of in vivo alcohol exposure to alter glutamatergic transmission in the BNST using whole-cell voltage clamp recordings and biochemistry in brain slices obtained from C57Bl6 mice. Chronic intermittent, but not continuous, ethanol vapor exposure increased temporal summation of NMDA receptor (NMDAR)-mediated excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs). Both electrophysiological and biochemical approaches suggest that this difference is not because of an alteration in glutamate release, but rather an increase in the levels of NR2B-containing NMDARs. Further, we found that ethanol modulation of NMDAR in the vBNST is altered after intermittent alcohol exposure. Our results support the hypothesis that NMDAR-mediated synaptic transmission is sensitized at key synapses in the extended amygdala and thus may be a suitable target for manipulation of the behavioral deficits associated with acute withdrawal from chronic alcohol exposure.
Pubmed ID: 19553918 RIS Download
Publication data is provided by the National Library of Medicine ® and PubMed ®. Data is retrieved from PubMed ® on a weekly schedule. For terms and conditions see the National Library of Medicine Terms and Conditions.
Public image processing and analysis program for Macintosh.
View all literature mentionsSoftware suite for electrophysiology data acquisition and analysis by Molecular Devices. Used for the control and recording of voltage clamp, current clamp, and patch clamp experiments. The software suite consists of Clampex 11 Software for data acquisition, AxoScope 11 Software for background recording, Clampfit 11 Software for data analysis, and optional Clampfit Advanced Analysis Module for sophisticated and streamlined analysis.
View all literature mentionsMus musculus with name C57BL/6J from IMSR.
View all literature mentions