Alcohol potentiates multiple GABAergic inputs to dorsal striatum fast-spiking interneurons.

Parvalbumin-expressing dorsal striatal fast-spiking interneurons, comprising ∼1% of the total dorsal striatal neuronal population, are necessary for the expression of compulsive-like ethanol consumption mice. Fast-spiking interneurons are driven to fire by glutamatergic inputs derived primarily from the cortex. However, these neurons also receive substantial GABAergic input from two sources: the globus pallidus and the reticular nucleus of the thalamus.