Abstract
Mice lacking either the α1 or β2 subunit of the GABAA receptor were tested for ethanol, saccharin, or quinine consumption, ethanol-conditioned place preference, ethanol-conditioned taste aversion, ethanol-simulated motor activity, and handling-induced seizures following chronic consumption of an ethanol liquid diet. The α1 null mutants showed decreased ethanol and saccharin consumption, increased aversion to ethanol, and a marked stimulation of motor activity after injection of ethanol. The β2 null mutants showed decreased consumption of saccharin and quinine, but not ethanol. Surprisingly, neither mutant showed marked changes in handling induced seizures before or after withdrawal of ethanol. The unique effects of deletion of these two GABAA receptor subunits on ethanol responses are discussed in terms of the distinct changes in different populations of GABAA receptors.
Footnotes
-
This work was supported by funds from the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, and by National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Integrated Neuroscience Initiative on Alcoholism Consortium and National Institutes of Health Grants AA06399 and AA13520.
-
Article, publication date, and citation information can be found at http://jpet.aspetjournals.org.
-
DOI: 10.1124/jpet.103.049478.
-
ABBREVIATIONS: THIP, 4,5,6,7-tetrahydroisoxazolo[5,4- c]pyridin-3-ol; HIC, handling-induced convulsion; CS, conditioned stimulus; ANOVA, analysis of variance; CTA, conditioned taste aversion.
- Received January 23, 2003.
- Accepted March 4, 2003.
- The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
JPET articles become freely available 12 months after publication, and remain freely available for 5 years.Non-open access articles that fall outside this five year window are available only to institutional subscribers and current ASPET members, or through the article purchase feature at the bottom of the page.
|