Publications by authors named "Nofar Rahamim"
Relapse to alcohol abuse, often caused by cue-induced alcohol craving, is a major challenge in alcohol addiction treatment. Therefore, disrupting the cue-alcohol memories can suppress relapse. Upon retrieval, memories transiently destabilize before they reconsolidate in a process that requires protein synthesis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeurotrophic growth factors were originally characterized for their support in neuronal differentiation, outgrowth, and survival during development. However, it has been acknowledged that they also play a vital role in the adult brain. Abnormalities in growth factors have been implicated in a variety of neurological and psychiatric disorders, including alcohol use disorder (AUD).
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- - Excessive alcohol intake causes changes in the brain's reward system, leading to increased drinking and potentially alcohol use disorder, with the activity-dependent neuroprotective protein (ADNP) playing a role in moderating these effects in a sex-dependent manner.
- - Short-term and long-term alcohol exposure was found to increase Adnp mRNA levels in specific brain areas, but the effects varied by sex: males showed temporary increases whereas females had a long-term decrease in Adnp levels.
- - In experiments with mice, female mice lacking ADNP showed higher alcohol consumption, but treatment with an ADNP-based drug normalized their drinking, indicating that ADNP could serve as a new marker and regulator of drinking behaviors, particularly in females.
Alcohol and nicotine are the two most commonly-abused substances and are often used together. Nicotine enhances alcohol-drinking behaviors in humans and in animals, and was suggested to enhance the reinforcing properties of other reinforcers. Here, we show that nicotine-associated environment, rather than nicotine itself, enhances alcohol intake in rats.
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