Striatonigral direct pathway 2-arachidonoylglycerol contributes to ethanol effects on synaptic transmission and behavior.

Endocannabinoids (eCB) and cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1) play important roles in mediating short- and long-term synaptic plasticity in many brain regions involved in learning and memory, as well as the reinforcing effects of misused substances. Ethanol-induced plasticity and neuroadaptations predominantly occur in striatal direct pathway projecting medium spiny neurons (dMSNs). It is hypothesized that alterations in eCB neuromodulation may be involved.

Spinal astrocyte aldehyde dehydrogenase-2 mediates ethanol metabolism and analgesia in mice.

Background: Little is known about the targets in the CNS that mediate ethanol analgesia. This study explores the role of spinal astrocyte aldehyde dehydrogenase-2 (ALDH2), a key ethanol-metabolising enzyme, in the analgesic effects of ethanol in mice.

Methods: Astrocyte and hepatocyte ALHD2-deficient mice were generated and tested in acute and chronic pain models.

Long-term alcohol consumption alters dorsal striatal dopamine release and regulation by D2 dopamine receptors in rhesus macaques.

The dorsal striatum (DS) is implicated in behavioral and neural processes including action control and reinforcement. Alcohol alters these processes in rodents, and it is believed that the development of alcohol use disorder involves changes in DS dopamine signaling. In nonhuman primates, the DS can be divided into caudate and putamen subregions.

Endocannabinoid Modulation of Orbitostriatal Circuits Gates Habit Formation.

Everyday function demands efficient and flexible decision-making that allows for habitual and goal-directed action control. An inability to shift has been implicated in disorders with impaired decision-making, including obsessive-compulsive disorder and addiction. Despite this, our understanding of the specific molecular mechanisms and circuitry involved in shifting action control remains limited.

Deep brain optical measurements of cell type-specific neural activity in behaving mice.

Recent advances in genetically encoded fluorescent sensors enable the monitoring of cellular events from genetically defined groups of neurons in vivo. In this protocol, we describe how to use a time-correlated single-photon counting (TCSPC)-based fiber optics system to measure the intensity, emission spectra and lifetime of fluorescent biosensors expressed in deep brain structures in freely moving mice. When combined with Cre-dependent selective expression of genetically encoded Ca(2+) indicators (GECIs), this system can be used to measure the average neural activity from a specific population of cells in mice performing complex behavioral tasks.

Fluorophore assisted light inactivation (FALI) of recombinant 5-HT₃A receptor constitutive internalization and function.

Fluorescent proteins and molecules are now widely used to tag and visualize proteins resulting in an improved understanding of protein trafficking, localization, and function. In addition, fluorescent tags have also been used to inactivate protein function in a spatially and temporally-defined manner, using a technique known as fluorophore-assisted light inactivation (FALI) or chromophore-assisted light inactivation (CALI). In this study we tagged the serotonin₃ A subunit with the α-bungarotoxin binding sequence (BBS) and subsequently labeled 5-HT₃A/BBS receptors with fluorescently conjugated α-bungarotoxin in live cells.