Homer2 regulates alcohol and stress cross-sensitization.

An interaction exists between stress and alcohol in the etiology and chronicity of alcohol use disorders, yet a knowledge gap exists regarding the neurobiological underpinnings of this interaction. In this regard, we employed an 11-day unpredictable, chronic, mild stress (UCMS) procedure to examine for stress-alcohol cross-sensitization of motor activity as well as alcohol consumption/preference and intoxication. We also employed immunoblotting to relate the expression of glutamate receptor-related proteins within subregions of the nucleus accumbens (NAC) to the manifestation of behavioral cross-sensitization.