Effects of Chronic Alcohol Exposure on Kainate Receptor-Mediated Neurotransmission in the Hippocampus

摘要

Alcohol-related medical disorders affect many organs and systems of the body, including the central nervous system (CNS). As with other drugs of abuse, long-term alcohol ingestion results in the development of tolerance, addiction, and dependence. Alcohol produces these effects by altering the actions of neurotransmitters and their receptors in the brain. Chronic ethanol exposure has complex and long-lasting effects on the function and/or expression of a myriad of neurotransmitter receptors and their modulators. A group of proteins affected by chronic ethanol exposure are ligand-gated ion channels such as the glutamtergic ionotropic receptors. Glutamate activates three major classes of ionotropic receptors. These three major types of channels are the NMDA, AMPA and kaimate receptors (KA-Rs). The overall goal of this study was to test whether or not chronic ethanol exposure results in alterations in subunit expression and/or function of KA-Rs in the hippocampus. Maladaptive changes in hippocampal KA-R expression could contribute to the pathophysiology of alcohol withdrawal syndrome.