Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide type 1 receptor within the nucleus accumbens core mediates excessive alcohol drinking in alcohol-preferring rats.

ABSTRACT: Alcohol use disorders (AUD) have a strong component of heritability; however, the neurobiological mechanisms mediating the propensity to consume excessive amounts of alcohol are still not well understood. Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP), a highly conserved neuropeptide which exerts its effects mainly through the PAC1 receptor (PAC1R), has been suggested to be one of the mediators of the effects of drugs of abuse and alcohol. Here, we investigated the role of the PACAP/PAC1R system in excessive alcohol drinking in alcohol-preferring rats, an established animal model of AUD. Intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) administration of the PAC1R antagonist PACAP(6-38) blocked excessive alcohol drinking and motivation to drink in Sardinian alcohol-preferring (Scr:sP) rats, wit

SUBMITTER: Minnig MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10342914 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature