Figure 2.

Model of alterations in basolateral-central amygdala circuit activity by alcohol and stress. Neurons of the CeL and CeM in males and females display similar basal glutamatergic postsynaptic responses to stimulation of BLA inputs (top). Given similar baseline single-neuron responses, male and female CeM projection neurons may similarly release GABA in downstream targets. However, after acute exposure to alcohol or the stress hormone corticosterone (CORT), the magnitude of the CeA response to BLA stimulation is dampened in a sexually divergent fashion (bottom). Specifically, alcohol, but not CORT, reduces postsynaptic response magnitude in both CeL and CeM neurons in males, whereas CORT, but not alcohol, reduces response magnitude in only CeL neurons in females. At the circuit level, these reductions in BLA excitation of CeA, measured ex vivo at the single-neuron level, are predicted to combine to produce similar alterations in GABA release by CeM projection neurons, resulting in altered alcohol intake and anxiety-like behavior in both sexes.