Topic: alcoholism

Alcoholism has been linked extensively to violence and aggressive behavior. About half of all violent crimes and sexual assaults are committed under the influence of alcohol. However, the underlying neuroanatomical mechanism of this connection remains elusive. Previous research in our group points at the somatostatin neurons in the medial amygdala as a relevant regulator of this behavior. In this work, we have investigated sex-specific behavioral alterations after chronic alcohol intoxication. Also, we have considered neuronal activity changes and introduced an emerging therapeutic target. Onl

Excessive alcohol consumption during adolescence is regarded as a risk factor for the development of alcoholism later in life, but the pathophysiological mechanisms that render the adult brain susceptible to alcohol are largely unknown. GABAA receptors are among the targets of alcohol to regulate neural activity in the brain. Work from our lab has demonstrated that activin, a member of the TGF-β family, controls alcohol potentiation of GABAA receptors in adult mouse dorsal hippocampus. Considering the well-known functional segregation along the hippocampal longitudinal axis, we examined here h