Ethanol-induced conditioned place preference and aversion differentially alter plasticity in the bed nucleus of stria terminalis.

ABSTRACT: Contextual cues associated with drugs of abuse, such as ethanol, can trigger craving and drug-seeking behavior. Pavlovian procedures, such as place conditioning, have been widely used to study the rewarding/aversive properties of drugs and the association between environmental cues and drug seeking. Previous research has shown that ethanol as an unconditioned stimulus can induce a strong conditioned place preference (CPP) or aversion (CPA) in rodents. However, the neural mechanisms underlying ethanol-induced reward and aversion have not been thoroughly investigated. The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), an integral part of the extended amygdala, is engaged by both rewarding and aversive stimuli and plays a role in ethanol-seeking behavior. Here, we used ex-vivo slice physiology t

SUBMITTER: Pati D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6785142 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature