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Journal of Undergraduate Research

Keywords

acute ethanol, GABA neuron, synaptic responses, nucleus accumbens

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Psychology

Abstract

The nucleus accumbens is a midbrain structure which is thought to influence pleasure and reward. The physiology of this area is also thought to be altered in a state of addiction, including alcoholism. The nucleus accumbens receives most of its dopaminergic input from another midbrain structure, the ventral tegmental area (VTA). The purpose of my research was to characterize the effects of acute ethanol administration on the firing rate of those VTA dopamine neurons by analyzing the change in the electrophysiological properties of inhibitory GABA neurons in the VTA, which are thought to directly regulate VTA dopamine firing rate.

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