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Thalamostriatal circuit contributions to behavioral inflexibility following adolescent ethanol exposure

Award Number: R21AA029782
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON ALCOHOL ABUSE AND ALCOHOLISM
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 03/01/2022
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 07/31/2023

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Thalamostriatal circuit contributions to behavioral inflexibility following adolescent ethanol exposure - Project Summary Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a chronic disease with substantial health and socioeconomic consequences. Drinking alcohol during adolescence increases the risk of developing symptoms associated with AUD during adulthood, including heavy drinking. The overarching goal of this project is to identify functional adaptations in brain circuitry that are caused by adolescent alcohol exposure, and to determine the role of those adaptations in maladaptive behaviors. Deficits in behavioral flexibility (i.e., impaired ability to alter behavior in response to changes in the outcome of that behavior) are associated with drug and alcohol misuse. Previous studies show that alcohol exposure during adolescence decreases behavioral flexibility in adult rodents. This proposal will explore the impact of adolescent alcohol exposure on brain circuitry involved in behavioral flexibility. Specifically, the proposed studies will determine the effects of adolescent alcohol exposure on neurons in the centrolateral nucleus of the thalamus (CL) that project to the dorsomedial striatum (DMS). Lesion or inhibition of these neurons causes deficits in behavioral flexibility in commonly used tasks including reversal learning and attentional set-shifting. These deficits are similar to those observed after adolescent alcohol exposure; however, the impact of alcohol on these neurons, and the involvement of CL neurons in alcohol-induced deficits in behavioral flexibility, have not been explored. The central hypothesis is that adolescent alcohol exposure reduces activity in DMS-projecting CL neurons, and that reduced CL neuron activity contributes to impaired behavioral flexibility in male and female mice. The experiments in Aim 1 will compare the physiology of CL neurons from adult alcohol-naïve mice and mice that were exposed to vaporized alcohol during adolescence. Brain slice electrophysiology experiments will measure the intrinsic excitability of DMS-projecting CL neurons as well as their excitatory and inhibitory synaptic inputs. To extend these findings to intact brain circuits, activity of DMS-projecting CL neurons from alcohol-naïve mice and mice with a history of adolescent alcohol exposure will be measured during reversal learning. Calcium dynamics in these neurons will be monitored via fiber photometry using the genetically-encoded calcium indicator jGCaMP7s. Experiments in Aim 2 will test the hypothesis that increasing activity of DMS-projecting CL neurons using optogenetic stimulation will improve behavioral flexibility in mice exposed to alcohol during adolescence. Results of these experiments will provide important information about how adolescent alcohol exposure affects thalamostriatal circuitry in the developing brain and how alcohol-induced changes in thalamostriatal physiology relate to maladaptive behaviors that contribute to alcohol misuse in adulthood. Discovery of novel circuitry that is impacted by adolescent alcohol exposure will inform strategies for manipulating circuit activity to reduce alcohol misuse.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = -$263,343 )
2024	2023	THE HENRY M. JACKSON FOUNDATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF MILITARY MEDICINE, INC.	6720A ROCKLEDGE DR	BETHESDA	MD	20817	MONTGOMERY	USA	Alcohol Research Programs	001	2	11/9/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	-$219,213
2024	2022	THE HENRY M. JACKSON FOUNDATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF MILITARY MEDICINE, INC.	6720A ROCKLEDGE DR	BETHESDA	MD	20817	MONTGOMERY	USA	Alcohol Research Programs	000	1	11/9/2023	NEW	-$44,130
														Subtotal = -$263,343

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $219,213 )
2023	2023	THE HENRY M. JACKSON FOUNDATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF MILITARY MEDICINE, INC.	6720A ROCKLEDGE DR	BETHESDA	MD	20817	MONTGOMERY	USA	Alcohol Research Programs	001	2	7/24/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
2023	2023	THE HENRY M. JACKSON FOUNDATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF MILITARY MEDICINE, INC.	6720A ROCKLEDGE DR	BETHESDA	MD	20817	MONTGOMERY	USA	Alcohol Research Programs	000	2	2/21/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$219,213
														Subtotal = $219,213

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $181,089 )
2022	2022	HENRY M. JACKSON FOUNDATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF MILITARY MEDICINE, INC., THE	6720-A ROCKLEDGE DR STE 100	BETHESDA	MD	20817	MONTGOMERY	USA	Alcohol Research Programs	000	1	2/25/2022	NEW	$181,089
														Subtotal = $181,089

Grand Total All Awards = $136,959

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Thalamostriatal circuit contributions to behavioral inflexibility following adolescent ethanol exposure

Award Number: R21AA029782

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON ALCOHOL ABUSE AND ALCOHOLISM

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 03/01/2022

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 07/31/2023

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