Chronic Alcohol Exposure is Associated with Decreased Neurogenesis, Aberrant Integration of Newborn Neurons, and Cognitive Dysfunction in Female Mice.

Background: Neurological deficits of alcohol use disorder (AUD) have been attributed to dysfunctions of specific brain structures. Studies of alcoholic patients and chronic alcohol exposure animal models consistently identify reduced hippocampal mass and cogntive dysfunctions as a key alcohol-induced brain adaptation. However, the precise substrate of chronic alcohol exposure that leads to structural and functional impairments of the hippocampus is largely unknown.