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Published on: January 7, 2019
Mesolimbic Neural Response Dynamics Predict Future Individual Alcohol Drinking in Mice
Sarah E Montgomery1, Long Li2, Scott J Russo2
1Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Friedman Brain Institute and the Center for Affective Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York; Department of Pharmacological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York.
Individual differences in brain responses to rewards influence alcohol consumption. Hyperactive dopamine systems in the brain are linked to lower alcohol intake and reduced vulnerability to alcohol use disorder.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Behavioral Science
- Addiction Research
Background:
- Individual variability in responses to rewarding stimuli is significant but not well understood.
- The mesolimbic dopamine system is key for processing natural rewards and alcohol, but its role in individual differences and alcohol vulnerability is unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how mesolimbic neural circuit activity differences contribute to individual variability in reward processing.
- To determine the link between baseline neural activity, reward processing, and alcohol drinking behaviors.
Main Methods:
- Utilized naturalistic behavioral assays and voluntary alcohol drinking paradigms in mice.
- Employed in vivo fiber photometry, in vivo electrophysiology, and chemogenetics to study neural activity.
- Characterized behavioral and neural responses to natural reward and manipulated dopamine neuron firing.
Main Results:
- Defined heterogeneous behavioral and neural responses to natural reward, predicting future alcohol consumption phenotypes.
- Identified specific ventral tegmental area dopamine neuron firing profiles linked to reward responses and alcohol drinking.
- Showed that hyperdopaminergic individuals had lower neural responses to reward and alcohol, predicting lower alcohol consumption.
Conclusions:
- Revealed circuit-specific neural signatures that predict individual alcohol vulnerability or resistance.
- Expanded understanding of how individuals regulate alcohol consumption, differentiating between controlled and problematic drinking behaviors.
