Reduced Alcohol Consumption Following Ablation of Cholinergic Interneurons in the Nucleus Accumbens of Wistar Rats

Alcohol use disorder is a severe mental health condition causing medical consequences and preterm death. Alcohol activates the mesolimbic dopamine system leading to an increase of extracellular dopamine (DA) in the nucleus accumbens, an event that is associated with the reinforcing effects of alcohol. Cholinergic interneurons (CIN) are important modulators of accumbal DA signalling, and depletion of accumbal CIN attenuates the alcohol-induced increase in extracellular DA. The aim of this study was to explore the functional role of accumbal CIN in alcohol-related behaviour. To this end, ablation of CIN was induced by local administration of anticholine acetyltransferase-saporin bilaterally into the nucleus accumbens of male Wistar rats. Alcohol consumption in ablated and sham-treated rats was studied using a two-bottle-choice intermittent alcohol consumption paradigm. Rats with depleted CIN consumed significantly less alcohol than sham-treated controls. No differences in sucrose preference, motor activity, water intake or weight gain were noted between treatment groups, suggesting that the ablation selectively affected alcohol-related behaviour. In conclusion, this study further supports a role for accumbal CIN in regulating alcohol-consummatory behaviour.