Fig. 6.

Neuronal responses to ethanol (EtOH) are seasonally and regionally regulated in the cortex and medulla of the 13-lined ground squirrel. Spontaneous activity of neurons in the VRC in a region anatomically consistent with the Pre-BötC demonstrated 3 distinct patterns of activity. A–C: examples of initial firing patterns seen in VRC neurons, rhythmically bursting (A), fast tonic (B), and slow tonic (C). D: mean normalized firing rate of VRC neurons in SA animals (▵) and IBA (▴) in response to 0.001, 0.01, and 0.1 M EtOH (applied at vertical bars, t = 60, 100, and 140 min). E: mean normalized firing rate of NTS neurons in SA (□) and IBA (■) in response to increasing doses of EtOH. F: mean normalized firing rate of CTX neurons in SA (○) and IBA (●) in response to the 3 doses of EtOH. Single unit activity was normalized to mean baseline activity for that neuron. *P < 0.05, significant difference between IBA and SA.