Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Search research articles

Related Experiment Videos

Homer2 and Alcohol: A Mutual Interaction.

Valentina Castelli¹, Anna Brancato¹, Angela Cavallaro¹

¹Department of Sciences for Health Promotion and Mother and Child Care "G. D'Alessandro", University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy.

Frontiers in Psychiatry

|December 19, 2017

Summary

Alcohol consumption increases Homer2 protein, a key player in brain changes associated with alcoholism. This protein mediates alcohol-induced behaviors and synaptic adaptations, offering potential treatment targets.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Perinatal LC-ω-3-PUFA supplementation offsets prenatal THC-induced cognitive deficit via sex-specific modulation of hippocampal neuroplasticity.

European journal of pharmacology·2026

Same author

The neuro-metabolic epidemic and the CB1R paradox.

Current opinion in pharmacology·2026

Same author

Prenatal THC exposure and binge-like alcohol drinking in early adolescence: From sex-specific drinking vulnerability to abnormal endocannabinoid-dopamine nexus in the nucleus accumbens.

Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England)·2026

Same author

Wait a Minute or More (WAMM): a pragmatic stepped wedge cluster randomised implementation trial assessing the effect of a quality improvement programme on the proportion of infants achieving delayed cord clamping more than 60 s in infants <37 weeks' gestation in up to 20 maternity hospitals.

BMJ paediatrics open·2025

Same author

Association Between Polypharmacy and Self-Reported Hearing Disability: An Observational Study Using ATC Classification and HHIE-S-It Questionnaire.

Audiology research·2025

Same author

Potentiation of mitochondrial function by mitoDREADD-G<sub>s</sub> reverses pharmacological and neurodegenerative cognitive impairment in mice.

Nature neuroscience·2025

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Molecular Biology
Addiction Research

Background:

Excitatory glutamatergic transmission in mesolimbic structures is implicated in alcoholism.
Homer family scaffolding proteins are crucial for postsynaptic density function and receptor regulation.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the role of Homer family proteins, specifically Homer2, in alcohol-induced neuroplasticity and behavior.
To elucidate the interaction between alcohol consumption and Homer2 expression in addiction-related brain regions.

Main Methods:

Analysis of data from addicted individuals and preclinical animal models.
Assessment of Homer family protein expression following repeated alcohol administration.
Examination of Homer2's influence on synaptic adaptations and behavioral phenotypes.

Keywords:

Homer proteins Homer2 addiction alcohol glutamate

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

Repeated alcohol administration alters Homer family protein expression, with a significant role for Homer2.
Alcohol consumption enhances Homer2 protein expression in the nucleus accumbens and extended amygdala.
Homer2 mediates the development of "pro-alcoholic" behaviors through morpho-functional synaptic adaptations.

Conclusions:

Homer2 plays a critical role in regulating alcohol-induced behavioral and cellular neuroplasticity.
The interaction between alcohol and Homer2 is bidirectional, impacting addiction pathways.
Homer2 represents a strategic molecular target for novel therapeutic interventions in alcoholism.