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Acute Alcohol Effects on Opiomelanocortinergic Regulation
Author(s) -
Rasmussen Dennis D.,
Bryant Carrie A.,
Boldt Brian M.,
Colasurdo Elizabeth A.,
Levin Nancy,
Wilkinson Charles W.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
alcoholism: clinical and experimental research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.267
H-Index - 153
eISSN - 1530-0277
pISSN - 0145-6008
DOI - 10.1111/j.1530-0277.1998.tb03870.x
Subject(s) - alcohol , chemistry , biochemistry
To assess acute effects of alcohol on forebrain and pituitary opiomelanocortinergic regulation, a model was developed in which “experienced” (previously introduced to ethanol administration, so the subjective response was not a novel stimulus) male Sprague‐Dawley rats received pulsatile intragastric ethanol infusions during the dark (active) photophase to produce and sustain (for 3 hr) behaviorally relevant (0, 40 to 70, 80 to 110, or 120 to 150 mg/dl) plasma ethanol levels. The effects of alcohol on hypothalamo‐pituitary‐adrenal (H‐P‐A) axis function were biphasic with respect to dosage (inhibition with low dosage and stimulation with higher dosages) and time (initial stimulation with higher dosages was followed by rapid return to control levels even though elevated plasma ethanol levels were maintained). The effects of alcohol on H‐P‐A activation were also inconsistent; some of the animals did not appear to respond even though elevated (i.e., > 100 mg/dl) plasma ethanol levels were produced. Induction of moderate (80 to 110 mg/dl) plasma ethanol levels acutely (within 30 min) increased immunoreactive (i) β‐endorphin concentrations in the ventral tegmental area of the brain; higher (120 to 150 mg/dl) plasma ethanol levels increased iβ‐endorphin concentrations in both the ventral tegmental area and the nucleus accumbens, whereas iβ‐endorphin concentrations were not significantly altered in other brain areas. High (120 to 150 mg/dl) plasma ethanol levels also increased mediobasohypothalamic pro‐opiomelanocortin (biosynthetic precursor of forebrain β‐endorphin) mRNA concentrations at 3 and 6 hr after initiation of ethanol infusions. Results demonstrate that atraumatic induction of physiologically meaningful plasma alcohol levels by gastric ethanol infusion activates the forebrain opiomelanocortinergic opioid system and exerts complex effects on the interrelated H‐P‐A system, consistent with evidence that these systems may interact to mediate or modulate some responses to alcohol ingestion.