Hampered long-term depression and thin spine loss in the nucleus accumbens of ethanol-dependent rats.
Alcoholism involves long-term cognitive deficits, including memory impairment, resulting in substantial cost to society. Neuronal refinement and stabilization are hypothesized to confer resilience to poor decision making and addictive-like behaviors, such as excessive ethanol drinking and dependence. Accordingly, structural abnormalities are likely to contribute to synaptic dysfunctions that occur from suddenly ceasing the use of alcohol after chronic ingestion. Here we show that ethanol-dependent rats display a loss of dendritic spines in medium spiny neurons of the nucleus accumbens (Nacc) shell, accompanied by a reduction of tyrosine hydroxylase immunostaining and postsynaptic density 95…
Dopamine restores limbic memory loss, dendritic spine structure, and NMDAR-dependent LTD in the nucleus accumbens of alcohol-withdrawn rats
Alcohol abuse leads to aberrant forms of emotionally salient memory, i.e., limbic memory, that promote escalated alcohol consumption and relapse. Accordingly, activity-dependent structural abnormalities are likely to contribute to synaptic dysfunctions that occur from suddenly ceasing chronic alcohol consumption. Here we show that alcohol-dependent male rats fail to perform an emotional-learning task during abstinence but recover their functioning byl-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanin (l-DOPA) administration during early withdrawal.l-DOPA also reverses the selective loss of dendritic “long thin” spines observed in medium spiny neurons of the nucleus accumbens (NAc) shell of alcohol-dependent rats d…
SELECTIVE DECREASE OF DENDRITIC SPINES IN THE NUCLEUS ACCUMBENS OF ETHANOL DEPENDENT RATS.
Neuronal refinement and stabilization are hypothesized to confer resilience to poor decision-making and addictive-like behaviors, such as excessive ethanol drinking and dependence. Accordingly, structural abnormalities are likely to contribute to the appearance of alcohol withdrawal signs and symptoms, that occur from suddenly ceasing the use of alcohol after chronic ingestion, thus perpetuating the addictive cycle. Here we show that ethanol dependent rats display a loss of dendritic spines in medium spiny neurons of the Nacc, accompanied by a reduction of TH-positive terminals and PSD-95 positive elements. Further analysis indicates that ‘long thin’, but not ‘mushroom’, spines are selectiv…