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Alcohol preference: association with reduced striatal nicotinic receptors
Y Tizabi1, B Getachew, M Davila-Garcia
1Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, Howard University, 520 W Street NW, Washington, DC 20059, USA.
Abstract:
This study was designed to determine whether inherent alcohol preference is associated with differential expression of central nicotinic receptors. [(3)H]Cytisine and [(125)I]alpha-bungarotoxin binding-site, ligands selective for alpha4beta2 and alpha7 nicotinic receptor subtypes, respectively, were determined in various brain regions of alcohol-preferring (P) and non-preferring (NP) rats. Only the striatum of P rats had a reduction in the number of binding sites for both ligands, compared to NP rats. The data suggest a link between striatal nicotinic receptors and alcohol preference.