Anxiety is a motivational component for many drugs of abuse, including ethanol. For example, acute ethanol reduces behavioral anxiety. This acute anxiolysis may be an underlying mechanism responsible for the co-morbidity1 and familial segregation2 of anxiety disorders and alcoholism. This anxiety-alcohol interaction is also represented during the withdrawal from chronic ethanol exposure that dramatically increases anxiety presumably due to adaptations in neurotransmitter systems governing this behavior. Indeed, increased anxiety is a common cause of relapse in abstinent alcoholics.3 Unfortunately, the neural basis for the relationship between ethanol-anxiety is not well understood. However, measures of heightened neuronal activity during ethanol withdrawal appear in the sensory, memory, and cognitive pathways regulating anxiety.4-6 To identify the cellular and molecular mechanisms regulating these relationships, we explored the functional adaptations to chronic ethanol ingestion using well-established liquid diet models7, 8 and whole cell patch clamp measures in acutely isolated lateral/basolateral amygdala neurons.
We have specifically examined GABAA and strychnine-sensitive glycine receptors since manipulation of amygdala ligand-gated chloride channels can directly influence anxiety.9 GABA-mediated currents and current densities were significantly larger in neurons derived from animals that ingested chronic ethanol compared to cells from control liquid diet rats. Conversely, the magnitude of both glycine-mediated currents and glycine current densities did not vary significantly from control, suggesting that the chronic ethanol-induced alterations in lateral/basolateral amygdala ligand-gated chloride channels were specific for GABAA receptors. Importantly, chronic ethanol exposure altered neither acute benzodiazepine efficacy nor acute ethanol sensitivity. During these studies, we noticed that the effects of acute ethanol on GABAA responses from both control and chronic ethanol-exposed were modestly inhibitory. We explored the inhibitory actions of ethanol on lateral/basolateral amygdala GABAA receptors by investigating the role of subunit composition in these acute effects. Specifically, we expressed GABAA receptors composed of subunits that are highly expressed in the lateral/basolateral amygdala, namely α1, α2, β2, and γ2S.10, 11 Indeed, GABA currents mediated by α2β2γ2S receptors were modestly inhibited by acute ethanol (100mM) while those containing the α1β2γ2S subunits were modestly facilitated. These findings suggest that subunit composition may indeed influence the acute effects of ethanol on lateral/basolateral amygdala GABAA receptors and ultimately determine their adaptive response to chronic ethanol exposure. Furthermore, the acute inhibition of amygdala GABAA receptors by ethanol make it unlikely that direct action on this particular receptor system mediates the acute anxiolytic effects of ethanol. Conversely, the facilitation of GABAA receptor function during chronic ethanol may be one mechanism by which ethanol maintains it’s anxiolytic potential during prolonged exposures.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by NIAAA and a pilot grant from Texas A&M University Center for Environmental and Rural Health (BAM).
References
- 1.Boyd JH, Burke JD, Jr., Gruenberg E, et al. Exclusion criteria of DSM-III. A study of co-occurrence of hierarchy- free syndromes. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1984;41:983–9. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.1984.01790210065008. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 2.Munjack DJ, Moss HB. Affective disorder and alcoholism in families of agoraphobics. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1981;38:869–71. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.1981.01780330027002. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 3.Brown SA, Vik PW, Patterson TL, et al. Stress, vulnerability and adult alcohol relapse. J Stud Alcohol. 1995;56:538–45. doi: 10.15288/jsa.1995.56.538. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 4.Beckmann AM, Matsumoto I, Wilce PA. AP-1 and Egr DNA-binding activities are increased in rat brain during ethanol withdrawal. J Neurochem. 1997;69:306–14. doi: 10.1046/j.1471-4159.1997.69010306.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 5.Criado JR, Morales M. Acute ethanol induction of c-Fos immunoreactivity in pre-pro-enkephalin expressing neurons of the central nucleus of the amygdala. Brain Res. 2000;861:173–7. doi: 10.1016/s0006-8993(99)02468-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 6.Knapp DJ, Duncan GE, Crews FT, et al. Induction of Fos-like proteins and ultrasonic vocalizations during ethanol withdrawal: further evidence for withdrawal-induced anxiety. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 1998;22:481–93. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 7.Lieber CS, DeCarli LM. Liquid diet technique of ethanol administration: 1989 update. Alcohol Alcohol. 1989;24:197–211. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 8.Frye GD, Chapin RE, Vogel RA, et al. Effects of acute and chronic 1,3-butanediol treatment on central nervous system function: a comparison with ethanol. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 1981;216:306–14. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 9.Sanders SK, Shekhar A. Regulation of anxiety by GABAA receptors in the rat amygdala. Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 1995;52:701–6. doi: 10.1016/0091-3057(95)00153-n. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 10.Fritschy JM, Mohler H. GABAA-receptor heterogeneity in the adult rat brain: differential regional and cellular distribution of seven major subunits. J Comp Neurol. 1995;359:154–94. doi: 10.1002/cne.903590111. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 11.Wisden W, Laurie DJ, Monyer H, et al. The distribution of 13 GABAA receptor subunit mRNAs in the rat brain. I. Telencephalon, diencephalon, mesencephalon. J Neurosci. 1992;12:1040–62. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.12-03-01040.1992. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]