Alcoholism is a major public health problem in the United States and many parts of the world. There exists a strong positive association between alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking (nicotine intake). In contrast to nicotine, however, no specific receptor for ethanol has been found. The mesolimbic dopaminergic pathway projecting from the ventral tegmenta area (VTA) to the nucleus accombens (NACC) is believed to be intimately involved in the reinforcing properties of the addictive drugs including alcohol and nicotine. Nicotinic receptors are present in both VTA and NACC. There is strong suggestion that the stimulatory action of ethanol on the mesolimbic system might also be mediated by nicotinic receptors located in this pathway. This proposal will test the hypotheses that 1) activation of nicotinic receptors promotes the actions of ethanol in a brain reward pathway, and 2) alcohol preferring P rats have an altered nicotinic receptor-mediated response to ethanol when compared with stock Wistar and alcohol- nonpreferring NP rats. Micro dialysis and HPLC-EC procedures will be used to determine the dose-response effects of micro injecting nicotinic agonists (nicotine and cytisine) or antagonist (mecamylamine) into the VTA and measuring extracellular levels of DA in the shell portion of the NACC of Wistar rats. Moreover, the effects of a sub- maximal dose of nicotine microinjected into the VTA, on ethanol- induced DA release inthe NACC shell of the Wistar, P, and NP rats will be evaluated. This pilot project will provide essental preliminary data to pursue more extensive studies to examine the involvement of nicotinic receptors in alcoholism and alcohol abuse. This line of research has the potential of leading to novel pharmacotherapies for simultaneous interventions in alcoholism and smoking cessation.

Project Start
1998-09-01
Project End
1999-08-31
Budget Start
1997-10-01
Budget End
1998-09-30
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
1998
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Howard University
Department
Type
DUNS #
056282296
City
Washington
State
DC
Country
United States
Zip Code
20059
Cain, Gloria E; Kalu, Nnenna; Kwagyan, John et al. (2016) Beliefs and Preferences for Medical Research Among African-Americans. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities 3:74-82
Scott, Denise M; Nwulia, Evaristus; Kwagyan, John et al. (2014) Genetic testing for the susceptibility to alcohol dependence: interest and concerns in an African American population. Genet Test Mol Biomarkers 18:538-45
Marshall, Vanessa J; Ramchandani, Vijay A; Kalu, Nnenna et al. (2014) Evaluation of the influence of alcohol dehydrogenase polymorphisms on alcohol elimination rates in African Americans. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 38:51-9
Marshall, Vanessa J; Kalu, Nnenna; Kwagyan, John et al. (2013) Alcohol dependence and health care utilization in African Americans. J Natl Med Assoc 105:42-9
Marshall, Vanessa J; Kalu, Nnenna; Kwagyan, John et al. (2012) Perceptions about genetic testing for the susceptibility to alcohol dependence and other multifactorial diseases. Genet Test Mol Biomarkers 16:476-81
Marshall, Vanessa J; McLaurin-Jones, TyWanda L; Kalu, Nnenna et al. (2012) Screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment: public health training for primary care. Am J Public Health 102:e30-6
Taylor, Robert E; Raysor, Byron R; Kwagyan, John et al. (2008) Alterations in ethyl alcohol pharmacokinetics during oral consumption of malt liquor beverages in African Americans. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 32:2074-80
Scott, Denise M; Williams, Carla D; Cain, Gloria E et al. (2008) Clinical course of alcohol dependence in African Americans. J Addict Dis 27:43-50
Sobrian, Sonya K; Jones, Barbara L; James, Hutchinson et al. (2005) Prenatal ethanol preferentially enhances reactivity of the dopamine D1 but not D2 or D3 receptors in offspring. Neurotoxicol Teratol 27:73-93
Sobrian, Sonya K; Jones, Barbara L; Varghese, Shiny et al. (2003) Behavioral response profiles following drug challenge with dopamine receptor subtype agonists and antagonists in developing rat. Neurotoxicol Teratol 25:311-28

Showing the most recent 10 out of 17 publications