Figure 1.

Activation of virally expressed hM₄Di in the dorsal striatum decreases alcohol intake in mice. Cannula placement was verified for all animals included in behavioral analysis (A). C57BL/6 mice (n = 10–11) injected in the dorsal striatum with either AAV8-hSyn-EGFP (GFP) or AAV8-hSyn-hM₄Di-mCherry (hM₄Di) were trained to consume alcohol in a two-bottle, drinking-in-the-dark protocol. Both groups of animals displayed a similar increase in alcohol intake (B) and preference (C). Vehicle injection (saline 0.9%, i.p.) did not change alcohol intake (D). Systemic clozapine-N-oxide (CNO) injection (2 mg/kg i.p.) significantly decreased alcohol intake in mice expressing hM₄Di, but not GFP, in the dorsal striatum (E). Significance by unpaired, Student’s t-test for AUC or two-way ANOVA with Bonferroni posttest for matching, **p < 0.01.