Effects of N-acetylcysteine treatment on ethanol's rewarding properties and dopaminergic alterations in mesocorticolimbic and nigrostriatal pathways.

Recent reports have shown that N-acetylcysteine (N-AC) has beneficial effects in the treatment of cocaine and nicotine abuse. Considering the similar neurobiologic mechanisms involved in the development of addiction to different drugs, N-AC treatment could be useful in the treatment of ethanol abuse. The rewarding properties of the drugs of abuse plays an important role in the development of addiction and can be studied using the conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigm.

Susceptibility to extinction and reinstatement of ethanol-induced conditioned place preference is related to differences in astrocyte cystine-glutamate antiporter content.

Individual susceptibility to alcohol effects plays an important role in the development of alcohol addiction and studies have shown that glutamate release is altered after chronic ethanol consumption. The cystine-glutamate antiporter (xCT) is a protein that regulates glutamate release. However, little is known about the relationship between xCT levels and this individual susceptibility.