Ethanol Reduces Neuronal Excitability of Lateral Orbitofrontal Cortex Neurons Via a Glycine Receptor Dependent Mechanism

• Published in: Neuropsychopharmacology (New York, N.Y.) Vol. 38; no. 7; pp. 1176 - 1188
• Main Authors: Badanich, Kimberly A, Mulholland, Patrick J, Beckley, Jacob T, Trantham-Davidson, Heather, Woodward, John J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basingstoke Nature Publishing Group 01.06.2013
• Subjects: Action Potentials - drug effects; Action Potentials - physiology; Alcoholism; Animals; Behavior; Bicuculline - pharmacology; Biological and medical sciences; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Drug Interactions; Ethanol; Ethanol - antagonists & inhibitors; Ethanol - pharmacology; Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials - drug effects; Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials - physiology; Flexibility; GABA Antagonists - pharmacology; Glycine Agents - pharmacology; In Vitro Techniques; Laboratory animals; Male; Medical sciences; Mice; Neurons; Neurons - drug effects; Neurons - physiology; Neurosciences; Original; Picrotoxin - pharmacology; Prefrontal Cortex - cytology; Prefrontal Cortex - drug effects; Prefrontal Cortex - physiology; Receptors, AMPA - drug effects; Receptors, Glycine - metabolism; Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate - antagonists & inhibitors; Strychnine - pharmacology; United States > US; alcohol; Stimulant; Orbitofrontal cortex; Ethanol; Central nervous system; Electrophysiology; Excitability; Patch clamp method; Glycine; Encephalon; Alcoholic beverage; patch-clamp electrophysiology; Neuron; tonic current; Aminoacid; Glycine receptor; NMDA; GABA; Mechanism of action

Trauma-induced damage to the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) often results in behavioral inflexibility and impaired judgment. Human alcoholics exhibit similar cognitive deficits suggesting that OFC neurons are susceptible to alcohol-induced dysfunction. A previous study from this laboratory examined OFC...