Ethanol-Induced Behavioral Sensitization Alters the Synaptic Transcriptome and Exon Utilization in DBA/2J Mice.

ABSTRACT: Alcoholism is a complex behavioral disorder characterized by loss of control in limiting intake, and progressive compulsion to seek and consume ethanol. Prior studies have suggested that the characteristic behaviors associated with escalation of drug use are caused, at least in part, by ethanol-evoked changes in gene expression affecting synaptic plasticity. Implicit in this hypothesis is a dependence on new protein synthesis and remodeling at the synapse. It is well established that mRNA can be transported to distal dendritic processes, where it can undergo localized translation. It is unknown whether such modulation of the synaptic transcriptome might contribute to ethanol-induced synaptic plasticity. Using ethanol-induced behavioral sensitization as a model of neuroplasticity, we invest

SUBMITTER: O'Brien MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6166094 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature