Alcohol use disorders and alcoholism are complex behavioral and biological endpoints that begin with the pleasurable, rewarding effects of initial alcohol use. Although many overlapping brain mechanisms contribute to addiction, mechanisms of reward and motivation are among the most salient targets of all addictive or compulsive disorders. To better understand what motivates excessive alcohol consumption, and thereby develop more effective strategies for intervention, a more thorough understanding of the relationship between alcohol and biological mechanisms of reward is important. This proposal will focus on the rewarding properties of alcohol in mouse models. Intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS) is a behavioral method used in animal studies that has made major contributions to our understanding of cocaine, amphetamine, opiate and nicotine reward. However, the application of ICSS to the study of alcohol reward has been comparatively limited, and the effects of alcohol on brain stimulation-reward (BSR) have not been studied in mouse models where genetic differences can more easily be evaluated. The main advantage of ICSS over other operant behavioral methods in which the animal must perform a task in order to receive a drug reinforcer (action->outcome) is that the rewarding effect of a drug is measured independent of the motivation of the animal to seek or consume the drug. Alcohol self-administration in rodent models may be complicated by factors such as taste aversion and thirst that are avoided with ICSS, which allows a unique and novel approach to investigate the genetic and pharmacological regulation of alcohol reward. Preliminary studies in our laboratory have shown that alcohol potentiates the rewarding value of BSR after acute administration by oral gavage in both C57BL6/J and DBA/2 mice. Genetic factors represent about half of the risk for alcohol dependence, and our preliminary data have established clear genetic differences in alcohol reward between these two mouse strains: alcohol doses lower than 1 g/kg potentiate BSR while doses higher than 1 g/kg depreciate BSR in C57BL6/J mice, a strain that voluntarily consumes alcohol. In contrast, DBA/2 mice show a robust, dose-dependent potentiation of BSR at doses up to 2.4 g/kg but do not voluntarily consume alcohol. The rewarding effect of alcohol is greatest at early time points (15-30 minutes) and coincides with the peak blood alcohol concentration (BAC) after oral administration in both strains, supporting the idea that animals find the rising phase of the BAC curve more pleasurable or rewarding than the falling phase. Experiments are proposed to further elucidate the pharmacokinetics and pharmacological effects of acute alcohol administration;to investigate adaptations to alcohol reward with intermittent or chronic alcohol exposure;and to determine the contribution of dopaminergic mechanisms to alcohol reward. Understanding the role of reward in alcohol dependence will clarify mechanisms of increased drinking liability and lead to insights into novel therapeutic targets that modify consumption by changing alcohol reward.

Public Health Relevance

The behavioral and biological problems of alcohol abuse begin with the pleasurable or rewarding effects of alcohol use. Alcohol use disorders are a major public health problem, costing American taxpayers almost $200 billion each year. The development of new and effective treatments based on sound neuroscientific evidence is critical to address the pain and impairment these disorders bring to the nearly 10 million people who suffer from them in the United States of America.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
1R01AA018335-01A1
Application #
7793038
Study Section
Neurotoxicology and Alcohol Study Section (NAL)
Program Officer
Egli, Mark
Project Start
2010-02-01
Project End
2014-01-31
Budget Start
2010-02-01
Budget End
2011-01-31
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2010
Total Cost
$325,063
Indirect Cost
Name
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
Department
Neurology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
608195277
City
Chapel Hill
State
NC
Country
United States
Zip Code
27599
Robinson, J Elliott; Vardy, Eyal; DiBerto, Jeffrey F et al. (2015) Receptor Reserve Moderates Mesolimbic Responses to Opioids in a Humanized Mouse Model of the OPRM1 A118G Polymorphism. Neuropsychopharmacology 40:2614-22
Vardy, Eyal; Robinson, J Elliott; Li, Chia et al. (2015) A New DREADD Facilitates the Multiplexed Chemogenetic Interrogation of Behavior. Neuron 86:936-946
Bilbao, Ainhoa; Robinson, J Elliott; Heilig, Markus et al. (2015) A pharmacogenetic determinant of mu-opioid receptor antagonist effects on alcohol reward and consumption: evidence from humanized mice. Biol Psychiatry 77:850-8
Fish, Eric W; Agoglia, Abigail E; Krouse, Michael C et al. (2014) Levetiracetam results in increased and decreased alcohol drinking with different access procedures in C57BL/6J mice. Behav Pharmacol 25:61-70
Fish, Eric W; DiBerto, Jeffrey F; Krouse, Michael C et al. (2014) Different contributions of dopamine D1 and D2 receptor activity to alcohol potentiation of brain stimulation reward in C57BL/6J and DBA/2J mice. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 350:322-9
Fish, Eric W; Whitman, Buddy J; DiBerto, Jeff F et al. (2014) Effects of the neuroactive steroid allopregnanolone on intracranial self-stimulation in C57BL/6J mice. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 231:3415-3423
Robinson, J Elliott; Chen, Meng; Stamatakis, Alice M et al. (2013) Levetiracetam has opposite effects on alcohol- and cocaine-related behaviors in C57BL/6J mice. Neuropsychopharmacology 38:1322-33
Riday, Thorfinn T; Dankoski, Elyse C; Krouse, Michael C et al. (2012) Pathway-specific dopaminergic deficits in a mouse model of Angelman syndrome. J Clin Invest 122:4544-54
Robinson, J E; Fish, E W; Krouse, M C et al. (2012) Potentiation of brain stimulation reward by morphine: effects of neurokinin-1 receptor antagonism. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 220:215-24
Robinson, J Elliott; Agoglia, Abigail E; Fish, Eric W et al. (2012) Mephedrone (4-methylmethcathinone) and intracranial self-stimulation in C57BL/6J mice: comparison to cocaine. Behav Brain Res 234:76-81

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