Alcoholism and alcohol abuse are serious illnesses that have life-threatening consequences if left untreated. Research into understanding the neural substrates that underlie the development of uncontrolled drinking is critical for developing treatments effective at reducing drinking and the incidence of relapse. This application is a renewal of an ongoing NIAAA sponsored training program that is focused on providing cutting-edge training in alcohol research for basic scientists and clinical fellows. The current proposal requests funds to provide alcohol-related research training for 2 pre-doctoral students and 4 post-doctoral fellows. The training will take place within an outstanding academic research environment that is devoted to understanding the neurobiological basis of alcohol and drug addiction. The program will be administered within the Center for Drug and Alcohol Programs (CDAP) that serves as an organizing platform to coordinate research activities focused on drug and alcohol addiction. The training mentors and support faculty are actively involved in NIAAA-sponsored research and are associated with the departments of Physiology and Neuroscience and Psychiatry. The areas of alcohol-related research training available encompass both animal and human studies and include 1) identification of molecular and cellular factors that influence the acute sensitivity of neuronal ion channels to alcohol, 2) characterization of neural adaptations in response to chronic alcohol exposure, 3) use of animal models to investigate novel pharmacological and behavioral treatments aimed at reducing alcohol drinking and the symptoms of withdrawal, 4) elucidation of the importance of classical conditioning in human alcohol drinking, and 5) assessing the efficacy of pharmacological interventions to reduce relapse in alcohol-addicted individuals. The overall goal of this training is to provide basic and clinical scientists with the skills necessary to develop into independent investigators focused on solving the problems associated with alcoholism and alcohol abuse.
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