Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 12, 2026

Microdialysis of Ethanol During Operant Ethanol Self-administration and Ethanol Determination by Gas Chromatography
Published on: September 5, 2012
Long-term effects of chronic ethanol on muscarinic receptor binding in rat brain
B S Rothberg1, B E Hunter, D W Walker
1Department of Neuroscience, University of Florida, Gainesville 32610, USA.
Abstract:
Effects of chronic ethanol treatment (CET) on muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR) binding properties were investigated via quantitative autoradiography in rats maintained on an ethanol-containing liquid diet for 28 weeks and withdrawn from ethanol for 8 weeks before harvesting of tissues. Controls received an identical diet in which sucrose was substituted isocalorically for ethanol. Maximal binding of the radiolabeled mAChR antagonist quinuclidinyl benzilate ([3H]QNB) was not reduced in hippocampal area CA1, dentate gyrus, neocortex, striatum, or thalamus, suggesting that CET results in no significant mAChR loss in these regions. Binding affinities of the cholinergic agonist carbachol to mAChRs were unaffected by CET in each of these regions, as determined by competitive displacement of [3H]QNB labeling. These results suggest that CET-induced functional deficits in brain cholinergic responses are not due to direct effects of CET on mAChR binding properties.
Related Concept Videos
Cholinergic Receptors: Muscarinic
The subtypes M1, M3, and M5 couple with the Gq subunit and activate the phospholipase C (PLC) activity, mobilizing intracellular Ca2+. Activation...
Direct-Acting Cholinergic Agonists: Pharmacokinetics
Direct-Acting Cholinergic Agonists: Pharmacological Actions
CNS Depressants: Alcohol and Nicotine

