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Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Chronic Intermittent Ethanol Vapor Exposure Paired with Two-Bottle Choice to Model Alcohol Use Disorder
Published on: June 23, 2023
Chronic ethanol exposure induces an N-type calcium channel splice variant with altered channel kinetics
Philip M Newton1, Keith Tully, Thomas McMahon
1Department of Neurology, University of California at San Francisco, The Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center, Emeryville, CA 94608, USA. pnewton@egcrc.net
Abstract:
Chronic ethanol exposure increases the density of N-type calcium channels in brain. We report that ethanol increases levels of mRNA for a splice variant of the N channel specific subunit alpha1 2.2 that lacks exon 31a. Whole cell recordings demonstrated an increase in N-type current with a faster activation rate and a shift in activation to more negative potentials after chronic alcohol exposure, consistent with increased abundance of channels containing this variant. These results identify a novel mechanism whereby chronic ethanol exposure can increase neuronal excitability by altering levels of channel splice variants.
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