Alcohol use disorders take a heavy toll on personal, social, and economic facets of our society. Thus we seek to better understand the underlying brain mechanisms for alcohol's effects. The central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) is a brain region that plays a vital role in alcohol intake, yet the means by which neurons in this region contribute to alcohol intake are not clear. The studies in this application propose to address this gap in a focused set of studies designed to expand our understanding of CeA circuit mechanisms in alcohol-related behaviors. Studies proposed will use in vivo electrophysiological recording to assess the neural correlates in the CeA during alcohol self- administration in rat models of drinking. Further, using electrophysiology and opto- and chemo- genetics, additional studies will test the hypothesis that a major excitatory input to the CeA, the insula, and a major output region, the parabrachial nucleus, are key players in a larger CeA circuit for alcohol self-administration. These candidate key regions will be compared with other regions, such as the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus and the BNST. The role of each of these circuits in intake of natural reward will also be assessed to understand possible distinctions in mechanisms of alcohol action. These studies represent important steps towards an understanding of the neurobiology of this devastating health disorder.
The amygdala, especially its central nucleus, plays a major role in alcohol addiction, but the specific means are unclear. Here we seek to better define that role using optogenetics and electrophysiology approaches in rats to test hypotheses of how amygdala central nucleus neuron activity impacts alcohol seeking and alcohol drinking. Our long-term goal is to clarify under which conditions brain regions that connect with the central nucleus of the amygdala control alcohol intake. Here we test the hypothesis that the insular cortex and the parabrachial nucleus are critical inputs and outputs, respectively, to the central nucleus that are key players in this process.
