TITLE:
The Effect of Ethanol on the Neuronal Subserving of Behavior in the Hippocampus
AUTHORS:
Yuri I. Alexandrov, Yuri V. Grinchenko, Diana G. Shevchenko, Robert G. Averkin, Valentina N. Matz, Seppo Laukka, Mikko Sams
KEYWORDS:
Neuronal Activity; Learning; Memory; Place Cells; CA1; Dg; Alcohol; Morphology
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Behavioral and Brain Science,
Vol.3 No.1,
February
27,
2013
ABSTRACT: We have previously shown
that both acute and chronic ethanol treatment depresses neural activity,
specifically in the cingulate cortex. Minor influences were found in the motor
cortex. The acute effect of ethanol in the hippocampus was intermediate to
those in the cingulate and motor cortices. In the present study, we concentrate
on the chronic effects of ethanol on the hippocampus. We demonstrate how the
neuronal activity underlying food-acquisition behavior is modified after chronic
ethanol treatment, and how the hippocampus subserves formation of newly-formed
alcohol-acquisition
behavior. Neuronal activity in CA1 was more sensitive to chronic ethanol than
the Dg area. Acute administration of ethanol had a normalizing effect on the
chronically-treated animals: their performance and the hippocampal neural activity approached a
normal range. The sets of neurons involved in food-acquisition behavior formed
before chronic ethanol treatment, and those involved in alcohol-acquisition
behavior formed after treatment significantly overlapped supporting the view
that the neuronal mechanisms of pre-existing behavior provide the basis for the
formation of new behavior. Additionally, we also discovered alcohol-acquisition
selective neurons. Assuming that the formation of new neuronal specializations
underlies learning, we believe that alcohol-selective neurons are specialized
during the formation
of alcohol-acquisition behavior. Our data demonstrate several new findings on
the effect of acute and chronic ethanol on hippocampus activity, and how the
neuronal activity relates to behavior before and after ethanol treatment.