Alcohol drinking alters stress response to predator odor via BNST kappa opioid receptor signaling in male mice.

ABSTRACT: Maladaptive responses to stress are a hallmark of alcohol use disorder, but the mechanisms that underlie this are not well characterized. Here, we show that kappa opioid receptor signaling in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) is a critical molecular substrate underlying abnormal stress responses to predator odor following heavy alcohol drinking. Exposure to predator odor during protracted withdrawal from intermittent alcohol drinking resulted in enhanced prefrontal cortex (PFC)-driven excitation of prodynorphin-containing neurons in the BNST. Furthermore, deletion of prodynorphin in the BNST and chemogenetic inhibition of the PFC-BNST pathway restored abnormal responses to predator odor in alcohol-exposed mice. These findings suggest that increased corticolimbic drive may prom

SUBMITTER: Hwa LS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7440917 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature