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Updated: May 19, 2026

Moderate Prenatal Alcohol Exposure and Quantification of Social Behavior in Adult Rats
Published on: December 14, 2014
Low prefrontal PSA-NCAM confers risk for alcoholism-related behavior
Jacqueline M Barker1, Mary M Torregrossa, Jane R Taylor
1Department of Psychiatry, Division of Molecular Psychiatry, Center for Genes and Behavior, Yale University School of Medicine, Abraham Ribicoff Research Facilities, Connecticut Mental Health Center, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
Abstract:
The factors underlying vulnerability to alcoholism are largely unknown. We identified in rodents an innate endophenotype predicting individual risk for alcohol-related behaviors that was associated with decreased expression of the neuroplasticity-related polysialylated neural cell adhesion molecule (PSA-NCAM). Depletion of PSA-NCAM in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex was sufficient to render mice unable to extinguish alcohol seeking, indicating a causal role of naturally occurring variation. These data suggest a mechanism of aberrant prefrontal neuroplasticity that underlies enhanced propensity for inflexible addiction-related behavior.
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