Astrocyte modulation of extinction impairments in ethanol-dependent female mice.

ABSTRACT: Rates of alcohol use disorders are increasing in women, and there is growing evidence that both the cognitive and biological consequences of alcohol dependence are distinct in women as compared to men. Despite this, the neurobehavioral outcomes of chronic alcohol exposure are poorly characterized in women and female animals. In this study, we find that ethanol dependence impaired extinction of reward seeking in a food conditioned place preference task in female mice. At the same time point, ethanol-dependent females exhibited astrocytic dysregulation as indicated by a brain region-specific reduction in glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) expression. Using a chemogenetic strategy, we demonstrate that modulating astrocyte function via chemogenetic activation of Gq-signaling in nucleus acc

SUBMITTER: Giacometti LL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7572770 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature