2026/02/01 by Ankit Sood, Filip Hanak, Antony Joseph +7 · 1 voice
Neuroscience · #Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior #Memory and Neural Mechanisms #Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
paper · doi:10.1111/acer.70258
openalex publication_date 2026/02/01 · openalex created_date 2026/02/20 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
BACKGROUND: Chronic intermittent ethanol (CIE) vapor inhalation is a widely used model for studying alcohol dependence. Additionally, cues paired with ethanol can drive and invigorate seeking behavior. However, the impact of ethanol-paired cues on neural activation following a history of CIE vapor exposure remains poorly understood. Here, we examined the impact of ethanol-paired cues in rats with or without a history of CIE vapor exposure on neuronal activation in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), nucleus accumbens (NAc), and the hippocampus (HPC) using c-Fos as a marker. METHODS: Male and female Long-Evans rats with a history of air or CIE vapor exposure were exposed to previously learned alcohol-associated cues under extinction conditions. Rats were perfused either immediately following cue exposure or with a delay to allow the development of c-Fos protein. c-Fos expression levels were analyzed in the mPFC, NAc, and HPC. RESULTS: CIE vapor exposure led to a region-specific effect on cue-evoked c-Fos levels, with enhanced cue-evoked c-Fos levels observed in the prelimbic mPFC of CIE rats. Correlation analysis of c-Fos expression across brain regions revealed that CIE vapor exposure also led to altered functional connectivity patterns. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that CIE vapor exposure affects cue-evoked c-Fos expression in the prelimbic mPFC as well as influencing functional connectivity across regions.