1. Optogenetic control of alcohol-seeking behavior via the dorsomedial striatal circuit.
- Author
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Roltsch Hellard, Emily, Binette, Annalise, Zhuang, Xiaowen, Lu, Jiayi, Ma, Tengfei, Jones, Bradley, Williams, Eric, Jayavelu, Swetha, and Wang, Jun
- Subjects
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ALCOHOL drinking , *METHYL aspartate receptors , *ALCOHOL , *THERAPEUTICS , *DOPAMINE receptors , *BEHAVIOR - Abstract
Alcohol consumption alters glutamatergic transmission in many brain regions, including the dorsomedial striatum (DMS); this aberrant plasticity is thought to be responsible for alcohol-seeking behavior. Recent studies reported that alcohol induced such plasticity specifically in direct pathway spiny projection neurons (dSPNs) of the DMS. However, it is unknown how this specific change contributes to alcohol-seeking behavior and relapse. Here, we first demonstrated that operant alcohol self-administration increased NMDA receptor activity in DMS dSPNs. Next, we found that optogenetic inhibition of dSPNs reversibly decreased operant lever presses for alcohol and alcohol intake. Furthermore, optogenetic stimulation of corticostriatal inputs at low and moderate frequencies induced reliable LTD in DMS slices. Surprisingly, in vivo delivery of the LTD-inducing protocol increased operant alcohol self-administration; this effect was blocked by a D2R antagonist. Importantly, LTD induction in the presence of both D1 and D2 receptor antagonists produced a long-lasting decrease in operant alcohol self-administration. Our results suggest that suppressing DMS dSPNs activity and their cortical inputs represents a novel treatment mechanism for alcohol use disorder. • Operant alcohol self-administration increases NMDAR activity of DMS dSPNs. • Inhibition of DMS dSPNs reversibly suppresses alcohol-seeking behavior and relapse. • In vivo low-to-moderate frequency stimulation of mPFC inputs causes a D2R-dependent increase in alcohol-seeking. • The same mPFC stimulation with blockade of D1Rs and D2Rs persistently decreases alcohol-seeking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2019
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