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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2022 Jun 1.
Published in final edited form as: Neuropharmacology. 2021 Apr 20;190:108564. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2021.108564

Figure 4. Acute effects of alcohol on DMS neurons differ by sex and drinking history.

Figure 4.

Mice were given access to 10% (v/v) alcohol and water in the home cage for 5 weeks (5W, filled bars & white dots) or water alone (0W, open bars & black dots) prior to euthanasia. Whole-cell spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents (sEPSCs) were recorded from dorsomedial striatal (DMS) neurons and properties of the currents measured and averaged across a 2-minute time window before (baseline) and after application of 50 mM ethanol (EtOH) to the slices. Representative traces at baseline and after EtOH treatment are shown for neurons from female (A) and male (B) mice with 0W (top) and 5W (bottom) drinking history. (C) Acute alcohol treatment slightly increased sEPSC amplitude in 5W males, compared to 0W, but slightly decreased amplitude in 5W females, compared to 0W. (D) Acute alcohol changed sEPSC frequency more in females than in males, significantly increasing frequency only in 0W females. Acute alcohol application did not alter rise time (E) or decay time (F). Histograms represent mean ± SEM baseline-normalized values, calculated as (sEPSC parameter after 50 mM EtOH application)/(sEPSC parameter at baseline). @ p<0.05, sex by drinking history interaction, * p<0.05, main effect of sex; & p<0.05 vs. 100% (one-sample t-test). Number of cells: n=10, 0W female, n=9, 5W female, n=9, 0W male n=8, 5W male; from 4 to 6 mice per group.