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Stress‐induced escalation of alcohol self‐administration, anxiety‐like behavior, and elevated amygdala Avp expression in a susceptible subpopulation of rats
Author(s) -
Barchiesi Riccardo,
Chanthongdee Kanat,
Domi Esi,
Gobbo Francesco,
Coppola Andrea,
Asratian Anna,
Toivainen Sanne,
Holm Lovisa,
Augier Gaelle,
Xu Li,
Augier Eric,
Heilig Markus,
Barbier Estelle
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
addiction biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.445
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1369-1600
pISSN - 1355-6215
DOI - 10.1111/adb.13009
Subject(s) - anxiety , amygdala , psychology , social anxiety , alcohol use disorder , comorbidity , alcohol dependence , clinical psychology , extended amygdala , traumatic stress , alcohol , social defeat , vasopressin , psychiatry , medicine , neuroscience , biochemistry , chemistry , stria terminalis
Comorbidity between alcohol use and anxiety disorders is associated with more severe symptoms and poorer treatment outcomes than either of the conditions alone. There is a well‐known link between stress and the development of these disorders, with post‐traumatic stress disorder as a prototypic example. Post‐traumatic stress disorder can arise as a consequence of experiencing traumatic events firsthand and also after witnessing them. Here, we used a model of social defeat and witness stress in rats, to study shared mechanisms of stress‐induced anxiety‐like behavior and escalated alcohol self‐administration. Similar to what is observed clinically, we found considerable individual differences in susceptibility and resilience to the stress. Both among defeated and witness rats, we found a subpopulation in which exposure was followed by emergence of increased anxiety‐like behavior and escalation of alcohol self‐administration. We then profiled gene expression in tissue from the amygdala, a key brain region in the regulation of stress, alcohol use, and anxiety disorders. When comparing “comorbid” and resilient socially defeated rats, we identified a strong upregulation of vasopressin and oxytocin, and this correlated positively with the magnitude of the alcohol self‐administration and anxiety‐like behavior. A similar trend was observed in comorbid witness rats. Together, our findings provide novel insights into molecular mechanisms underpinning the comorbidity of escalated alcohol self‐administration and anxiety‐like behavior.