GABA and Glutamate Synaptic Coadaptations to Chronic Ethanol in the Striatum

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

7 Scopus citations

Abstract

Alcohol (ethanol) is a widely used and abused drug with approximately 90% of adults over the age of 18 consuming alcohol at some point in their lifetime. Alcohol exerts its actions through multiple neurotransmitter systems within the brain, most notably the GABAergic and glutamatergic systems. Alcohol’s actions on GABAergic and glutamatergic neurotransmission have been suggested to underlie the acute behavioral effects of ethanol. The striatum is the primary input nucleus of the basal ganglia that plays a role in motor and reward systems. The effect of ethanol on GABAergic and glutamatergic neurotransmission within striatal circuitry has been thought to underlie ethanol taking, seeking, withdrawal and relapse. This chapter reviews the effects of ethanol on GABAergic and glutamatergic transmission, highlighting the dynamic changes in striatal circuitry from acute to chronic exposure and withdrawal.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationHandbook of Experimental Pharmacology
PublisherSpringer New York LLC
Pages79-112
Number of pages34
DOIs
StatePublished - 2018

Publication series

NameHandbook of Experimental Pharmacology
Volume248
ISSN (Print)0171-2004
ISSN (Electronic)1865-0325

Keywords

  • Action control
  • Addiction
  • Alcohol
  • Cortico-striatal loop
  • Neurotransmitter
  • Synaptic transmission

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics
  • Biochemistry

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