Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Brain Alcoholism Alcohol'

Alcoholism is a complex neuropsychiatric disease that is characterized by compulsive alcohol use and intensifying cravings and withdrawals, often culminating in physiologic dependency. Fundamental alterations in brain chemistry underlie the transition from initial ethanol exposure to repetitive excessive use. Key mediators of this adaptation include changes in gene expression and signal transduction. Here we investigated gene expression pathways in prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens following acute or chronic ethanol treatment, to identify genes with potentially conserved involvement in the long-term response of the corticolimbic system to repeated ethanol exposure. We investigated Gsk3b, which encodes glycogen synthase kinase 3-beta, as a highly ethanol responsive gene associated with risk for long-term maladaptive responses to ethanol. On the level of the protein, we found that GSK3B and to a lesser extent the GSK3A isoform showed robust increases in inhibitory phosphorylation following acute ethanol. This inhibition may underlie aspects of the behavioral response to acute ethanol, as pre-treatment with a GSK3B inhibitor (tideglusib) augmented ethanol’s locomotor effects. Following long term ethanol exposure, we re-tested GSK3B phosphorylation and found that its ethanol response is blunted, consistent with molecular tolerance as a corollary to increased consumption. As the prefrontal cortex (PFC) plays a vital role in the reward pathway via its glutamatergic projections to the nucleus accumbens, we investigated the role of the Gsk3b gene specifically in PFC and in glutamatergic neurons. Overexpression of Gsk3b in the PFC robustly increased ethanol consumption, while deletion in Camk2a-positive neurons significantly attenuated ethanol consumption. Pharmacologic antagonism of GSK3B also decreased drinking in a model of binge-like consumption. Collectively this data implicates GSK3B as a mediator of excessive ethanol intake via its kinase activity, wherein inhibition of the kinase via phosphorylation exerts a protective effect in the context of acute ethanol, but desensitizes with repeated exposure.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Proteomics is rapidly achieving recognition as a complimentary and perhaps superior approach to examine global changes in protein abundance in complex biological systems and the value of these techniques in neuropsychiatry is beginning to be acknowledged. Characterizing the brain’s regional proteomes provides a foundation for the detection of proteins that may be involved in disease-related processes. Firstly, optimal conditions were achieved for the application of two dimensional-gel electrophoresis (2D-GE)-based proteomics with postmortem human brain tissue. These optimized techniques were then applied to soluble fractions of adjacent grey and white matter of a single cytoarchitecturally defined area (Brodmann area 9; BA9) and of two adjacent regions of frontal white matter (BA9 and CC body) from healthy individuals. These normative proteomic comparisons highlighted the importance of correct tissue sampling, i.e. proper separation of regional white matter, as heterogeneity in the respective proteomes was demonstrated. Furthermore, they stressed the necessity for future molecular brain mapping studies. The main focus of this thesis however, was to examine the proteomes of brain regions specifically vulnerable to alcohol-induced damage underlying cognitive dysfunction. Alcoholic patients commonly experience mild to severe cognitive decline. It is postulated that cognitive dysfunction is caused by an alcohol-induced region selective brain damage, particularly to the prefrontal cortex. The cerebellum is increasingly recognized for its role in various aspects of cognition and alcohol–induced damage to the cerebellar vermis could indirectly affect neurocognitive functions attributed to the frontal lobe. We used a 2D-GE-based proteomics approach to compare protein abundance profiles of BA9 grey and white matter and the cerebellar vermis from human alcoholics (neurologically uncomplicated and alcoholics complicated with liver cirrhosis) and healthy control brains. Among the protein level changes observed are disturbances in the levels of a number of thiamine-dependent enzymes. A derangement in energy metabolism perhaps related to thiamine deficiency seems to be important in all regions analysed, even where there are no clinical or pathological findings of Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome. Evidence of oxidative changes was also seen in all regions and effects of liver dysfunction in the vermis found. However, overall, these results highlight the complexity of this disease process in that a number of different proteins from different cellular pathways appear to be affected. By identifying changes in protein abundance levels in the prefrontal grey and white matter and the cerebellar vermis, hypotheses may draw upon more mechanistic explanations as to how chronic ethanol consumption causes the structural and functional alterations associated with alcohol-related brain damage. Furthermore, by comparing these results, we may be able to isolate disturbances in molecular pathways specific to the brain damage caused by alcohol, severe liver dysfunction and thiamine deficiency.

Alkohol har funnits sedan urminnes tider och är något som de flesta ungdomar och vuxna är bekanta med. Flertalet vet också att för mycket alkohol på lång sikt kan orsaka skador, framförallt på lever (fettlever) och njurar. Men inte alla vet att alkohol skadar hjärnan och kan ge kramper samt epilepsi. Alkohol har olika effekter på kroppen. Akut kan det öka den inhiberande och minska den excitatoriska signaleringen i hjärnan. Långvarigt kan det öka den excitatoriska signaleringen, minska den inhibitoriska samt öka alkoholtoleransen. I hjärnan är balansen mellan den inhibitoriska och excitatoriska signaleringen mycket betydelsefull och rubbningar kan orsaka skador som i sin tur kan orsaka krampanfall. Dessa krampanfall kan bli allvarliga och ibland dödliga. Studier kring sambandet mellan alkohol och epilepsi utförda av Samokhvalov et al. (2010), Devetag et al. (1983), Bråthen et al. (1999), Tartara et al. (1983), Bartolomei et al. (1997), Victor och Brausch (1967) och Hillbom (1980) har visat på olika resultat, men trots skillnaden i resultaten har korrelationen mellan alkohol och epilepsi varit tydlig. I studien av Devetag et al. (1983) hade 58 % av 153 alkoholister anfall icke relaterade till abstinens, alkoholinducering eller sjukdom/skada. Av 60 patienter med krampanfall var 30 stycken (50 %) icke relaterade till abstinens, alkoholinducering eller sjukdom/skada i studien utförd av Bartolomei et al. (1997). Bråthen et al. (1999)  utförde en studie på 142 alkoholister med krampanfall där 16 stycken (36 %) var icke-relaterade till abstinens, alkoholinducering eller sjukdom/skada. Vidare påvisade Tartara et al. (1983) i sin studie 30 patienter med krampanfall där 3 stycken (10 %) inte var relaterade till abstinens, alkohlinducering eller sjukdom/skada. Krampanfall som inte är relaterade till abstinens, akoholinducering eller sjukdom/skada är kluriga och svåra att utreda. Många forskare har försökt få insikt i och reda ut frågan om alkohols influens över utvecklingen av epilepsi och hur det skulle tänkas gå till. När kan alkoholrelaterade krampanfall klassificeras som epilepsi, vad innebär ett alkoholrelaterat krampanfall och vilka orsaker existerar som leder till att sådanan krampanfall uppstår. I den här litteraturstudien utreds kopplingen mellan alkoholism och epilepsi för att bättre förstå sambandet. Till studien har 20 vetenskapliga artiklar använts för att förstå vilka effekter alkohol har på kroppen, vad det innebär att ha epilepsi och hur de båda är kopplade. För att komma fram till ett svar på den framförda frågeställningen i studien, om långvarigt bruk av alkohol ger kramper och epilepsi, användes 7 studier vars undersökingar huvudsakligen fokuserat på alkoholister inlagda med krampanfall. Resultaten från de 7 studierna indikerar sammantaget att alkohol sannolikt kan orsaka epilepsi. Ingen av studierna har visat motsatsen. Långvarigt bruk av alkohol ger kramper och kan även ge epilepsi, men hur det går till är inte klarlagt. Samtidigt finns det många individer som missbrukar alkohol och som inte får epilepsi eller aldrig ens upplever ett enda krampanfall.
Alcohol has been used for drinking for many years and is a substance that is well known to most teenagers and adults. Most people also know that alcohol, when misused, can cause damage to both the liver and the kidneys but not as many people know about the damage alcohol can cause the brain. The damage that alcohol causes in the brain can lead to conditions where the patient can experience seizures, whitch can further devlop into epilepsy. Alcohol has different effects on the body. An immidiate response to alcohol is that the inhibitory signaling in the brain increases and the excitatory signaling decreases. When it comes to a prolonged misuse of alcohol the effects on the brain are the opposite and it can also increase the tolerance for alcohol. Inhibitory and excitatory signaling in the brain are essential and disturbance of those signals can be very damaging to the brain. The damages can develop and become permanent and it can also trigger different kinds of seizures. The seizures can in turn become very serious and fatal. Studies on the connection between alcohol and epilepsy has been conducted by Samokhvalov et al. (2010), Devetag et al. (1983), Bråthen et al. (1999), Tartara et al. (1983), Bartolomei et al. (1997), Victor och Brausch (1967) och Hillbom (1980) and have shown different results. The results however have shown a clear correlation between alcohol and epilepsi. In the study performed by Devetag et al. (1983) 58 % of 153 patients experienced seizures not related to alcohol withdrawl, alcohol induction or injury/disease. Of 60 patients who presented seizures in the study conducted by Bartolomei et al. (1997), 30 (50 %) had seizures not related to alcohol withdrawl, alcohol induction or injury/disease. A study performed by Bråthen et al. (1999) showed  16 patients (36 %) of 142 with seizures not related to alcohol withdrawl, alcohol indiction or injury/disease. Furthermore, a study conducted by Tartara et al. (1983) showed 30 patients with seizures, where 3 (10 %) of them were not related to alcohol withdrawl, alcohol induction or injury/disease. Seizures not related to alcohol withdrawl, alcohol abuse or injury/disease are difficult to investigate. Many scientists have tried to get insight in as to how alcohol can influence the ethiopathogenesis of epilepsy. What is alcohol-related seizures, what is the cause behind the seizures and how does one decide if the seizures can be defines as epilepsy. This literature review investigates the link between alcoholism and epilepsy to better understand this connection. The question of issue was ”if prolonged misuse of alcohol can lead to epilepsy” and to unravel the question, 7 studies were used. The studies main focus was alcoholism and seizures. The results from the studies indicated in total that alcohol prabably can cause epilepsy since none of the studies showed the opposite. A prolonged misuse of alcohol can lead to seizures and even epilepsy, but how this comes to be is not clear and needs to be properly investigated. Not to forget, some people who misuse alcohol do not get epilepsy and some never experience even a single seizure.

Neuropeptides are special in their expression profiles restricted to neuronal subpopulations and low tissue mRNA levels. Genetic, epigenetic and transcriptional mechanisms that define spatiotemporal expression of the neuropeptide genes have utmost importance for the formation and functions of neural circuits in normal and pathological human brain. This thesis focuses on regulation of transcription of the opioid/nociceptin genes, the largest neuropeptide family, and on identification of adaptive changes in these mechanisms associated with alcoholism as model human pathology. Two epigenetic mechanisms, the common for most cells in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and the neuron-subpopulation specific that may orchestrate prodynorphin (PDYN) transcription in the human dlPFC have been uncovered. The first, repressive mechanism may operate through control of DNA methylation/demethylation in a short, nucleosome size promoter CpG island (CGI). The second mechanism may involve USF2, the sequence–specific methylation–sensitive transcription factor which interaction with its target element in the CpG island results in USF2 and PDYN co-expression in the same neurons. The short PDYN promoter CGI may function as a chromatin element that integrates cellular and environmental signals through changes in methylation and transcription factor binding. Alterations in USF2–dependent PDYN transcription are affected by the promoter SNP (rs1997794: T>C) under transition to pathological state, i.e. in the alcoholic brain. This and two other PDYN SNPs that are most significantly associated with alcoholism represent CpG-SNPs, which are differentially methylated in the human dlPFC. The T, low risk allele of the promoter SNP forms a noncanonical AP-1–binding element. JUND and FOSB proteins, which may form homo- or heterodimers have been identified as dominant constituents of AP-1 complex. The C, non-risk variant of the PDYN 3′ UTR SNP (rs2235749 SNP: C>T) demonstrated significantly higher methylation in alcoholics compared to controls. PDYN mRNA and dynorphin levels significantly and positively correlated with methylation of the PDYN 3′ UTR CpG-SNP suggesting its involvement in PDYN regulation. A DNA–binding factor with differential binding affinity for the T allele and methylated and unmethylated C alleles of the PDYN 3′ UTR SNP (the T allele specific binding factor, Ta-BF) has been discovered, which may function as a regulator of PDYN transcription. These findings emphasize the complexity of PDYN regulation that determines its expression in specific neuronal subpopulations and suggest previously unknown integration of epigenetic, transcriptional and genetic mechanisms that orchestrate alcohol–induced molecular adaptations in the human brain. Given the important role of PDYN in addictive behavior, the findings provide a new insight into fundamental molecular mechanisms of human brain disorder. In addition to PDYN in the dlPFC, the PNOC gene in the hippocampus and OPRL1 gene in central amygdala that were downregulated in alcoholics may contribute to impairment of cognitive control over alcohol seeking and taking behaviour.

We introduce a novel approach to evolving spike neural network (SNN) based Spatio-temporal (ST) pattern classifiers that can detect occurrences of hidden structures in a ST data. We test this learning paradigm to find characteristic electrical patterns in visually evoked response potentials (VERPs) generated by an alcoholic brain.

We cast the alcoholic classification task as a multiple feature selection (FS) problem. The FS problems are grouped under 2 classes: the spatial task and the temporal task. The objective of the spatial FS task is to choose a correct subset of electroencephalogram (EEG) leads (the spatial-features) along with the lead-weighs (numeric attributes) using which a composite signal can be created. The temporal FS task involves detecting temporal patterns that occur more frequently in the alcoholic composite signals than in the control signals. To facilitate the evolution of such a classifier, we introduce design rules for SNN based temporal pattern detectors (TPDs) and novel crossover operators for the simultaneous FS task.

The conventional techniques for characterizing the alcoholic VERPs use the information in the gamma-band (30 to 50 Hz) to develop a set of feature vectors and then train a classifier using these feature vectors. Using the SNN based evolutionary learning paradigm we were able to solve this problem in 1 step; the SNN performed both temporal feature extraction and classification. Unlike the conventional techniques we did not make any specific assumptions regarding the spectral characteristics of the data; we did not implement a gamma-band filter. Also, we located regions on the skull of an alcoholic subject that produced abnormal electrical activity compared to the controls. These regions are consistent with prior findings in the literature. The classification accuracy was measured as the area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (ROC). The area under the ROC curve for the training set varied from 90.32% to 98.83% and for the testing set it varied from 87.17% to 95.9%.

Orientador: Roberta Ceriani
Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Química
Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-23T01:21:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Troni_KellyLendini_M.pdf: 3567932 bytes, checksum: fb83c16b04e83a1bcc666f11c5237dec (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013
Resumo: A cera do óleo de farelo de arroz (OFA) é um resíduo da etapa de deceragem no processo de refino de óleos. Tradicionalmente, as ceras naturais, que em excesso geram turbidez no óleo vegetal embalado, são removidas por cristalização e filtração a baixa temperatura. Esse resíduo da etapa de deceragem pode conter de 20 a 80% em massa de óleo, seguido por uma fração principal de ceras, álcoois graxos livres, ácidos graxos livres e hidrocarbonetos. A fração de cera do resíduo é constituída por álcoois graxos e ácidos graxos de cadeia longos esterificados (mais de 18 carbonos). Considerando que o óleo de farelo de arroz tem 4-6% em massa de cera, uma grande quantidade dessa fonte natural de compostos graxos é subaproveitada na indústria de óleos vegetais. De acordo com a revisão bibliográfica, nenhum trabalho na literatura trata da produção de ácidos graxos e de álcoois graxos a partir da hidrólise do resíduo extraído da etapa de deceragem usando vapor supersaturado (elevadas temperaturas e alto vácuo). Nestas condições, a reação de degradação de ceras, ou de desesterificação, ocorre sem a presença de catalisadores em um meio graxo. Diante do exposto, esta dissertação de mestrado teve por objetivo o estudo inédito de aplicação das mesmas condições da desacidificação por via física como rota na produção de ácidos graxos e álcoois graxos a partir do resíduo da etapa de deceragem de óleo de farelo de arroz, sob baixa pressão, a temperaturas elevadas e mediante a injeção de vapor de arraste. Os experimentos foram realizados de acordo com um planejamento fatorial simples (23 + 3 pontos centrais) considerando a temperatura da camisa de aquecimento do vaso do desodorizador (ºC), a vazão de vapor de arraste (mL de água 25 ºC/ min) e o tempo de stripping (min) como variáveis independentes. Os efeitos destas variáveis foram relacionados aos resultados de análises químicas, sendo que, em cada ensaio, foram colhidas amostras para o resíduo e destilado, e analisadas quanto ao teor de ácidos graxos livres, espectros de infravermelho com transformada de Fourier (FTIR), calorimetria exploratória diferencial (DSC) e a técnica EASI-MS (Easy Ambient Sonic- Spray Mass Spectrometry)
Abstract: The rice bran oil wax is a residue of step dewaxing in oil refining process. Traditionally, natural waxes, which generate excessive turbidity in commercial vegetable oil, are removed by crystallization and filtration at low temperatures. This residue of the dewaxing step or winterization may contain from 20 up to 80% by weight of oil, followed by a main fraction of waxes, free fatty alcohols, fatty acids and hydrocarbons. The wax fraction of the residue is composed of esterified fatty alcohols and long-chain fatty acids (more than 18 carbons). Considering that rice bran oil has 4-6% by weight of wax, a large amount of such natural source of fatty compounds is undervalued by the oil industry. According to literature review, no work has reported the production of fatty acids and fatty alcohols from the hydrolysis of the winterization residue using supersaturated steam (high temperatures and high vacuum). Accordingly, the degradation reaction of waxes, or deesterification occurs without the presence of catalysts in an oily medium. Given the above stated, this dissertation aimed to study the unprecedented application of the same conditions as stripping steam deacidification in the production of fatty acids and fatty alcohols from the residue of dewaxing step of rice bran oil, under low pressure, elevated temperatures and with the injection of stripping steam. The experiments were performed according to a simple factorial design (23 + 3 central points), i.e., temperature of the still heating jacket (ºC), the flow of stripping steam (mL water 25 ºC / min) and stripping time (min) as independent variables. The effects of these variables were related to the results of chemical analysis, and in each test, samples were taken for residue and distillate, and analyzed for their content of free fatty acids , spectra of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and EASI-MS (Easy-Ambient Sonic Spray Mass Spectrometry)
Mestrado
Desenvolvimento de Processos Químicos
Mestra em Engenharia Química

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
Research in the alcohol preferring (P) rat has indicated that peri-adolescent alcohol (EtOH) consumption enhances the acquisition of oral operant EtOH self-administration, inhibits the extinction of responding for EtOH, augments EtOH-seeking behaviors, and increases relative reward value of EtOH during adulthood. Experiment 1 was conducted to determine if these adult effects of peri-adolescent EtOH intake could be observed using an Intracranial Self-Administration (ICSA) model. It was hypothesized that an increased sensitivity to the rewarding actions of EtOH would be manifested in peri-adolescent-EtOH-exposed subjects compared to naive subjects when the opportunity to self-administer EtOH to the posterior ventral tegmental area (pVTA) is available in adulthood. The pVTA is a primary site for EtOH’s reinforcing and rewarding properties in the mesolimbic dopamine (DA) system. Experiment 2 was a dose-response examination of the effects of EtOH administered to the pVTA on downstream DA efflux in the nucleus accumbens shell (AcbSh) via a joint Microinjection-Microdialysis (MicroMicro) procedure. Male P rats were given 24-h free-choice exposure to 15% volume/volume EtOH from postnatal day (PD) 30 to PD 60, or remained experimentally naive, with ad lib food and water. By the end of the periadolescent exposure period, average consumption was 7.3 g/kg/day of EtOH. After PD 75, periadolescent-EtOH-exposed and naïve rats were either implanted with an injector guide cannula aimed at the right pVTA for ICSA (Experiment 1), or two cannulae, one aimed at the right pVTA (injector) and one at the ipsilateral AcbSh (microdialysis) for MicroMicro (Experiment 2). Following one week of recovery from surgery, ICSA subjects were placed in standard two-lever (active and inactive) operant chambers. Test sessions were 60 min in duration and occurred every other day for a total of 7 sessions. Rats were randomly assigned to one of 5 groups (n=4-9/group) that self-infused (FR1 schedule) either aCSF (vehicle, 0 mg%), 50, 75, 100, or 150 mg% EtOH during 4 sessions, aCSF only for sessions 5 and 6 (extinction), and the initial concentration again for session 7 (reinstatement). MicroMicro subjects received six days of recovery from surgery, probe implantation the day before testing, and then continuous microdialysis for DA with 15 min microdialysis samples collected before, during, and then two hrs after 10-min pulse microinjection of either aCSF (vehicle, 0 mg%), 50, 75, 100, or 150 mg% EtOH. Neither EtOH-exposed nor naive groups of P rats self-infused the aCSF or 50 mg% EtOH concentration. While the naive group did not self-infuse the 75 or 100 mg% EtOH concentrations, the peri-adolescent EtOH-exposed group of P rats did readily discriminate the active lever from the inactive lever at these concentrations. Both groups self-infused the 150 mg% EtOH concentration. Pulse microinjections of EtOH during the MicroMicro procedure revealed that 75 and 100 mg% concentrations of EtOH increased downstream DA in the AcbSh of EtOH-exposed, but not naïve, subjects. 150 mg% EtOH increased downstream DA in both adolescent treatment groups. Overall, the results indicate that consumption of EtOH by P rats during peri-adolescence increases the reinforcing properties of EtOH in the pVTA in adulthood. The results also indicate that there were differential effects of peri-adolescent EtOH exposure on DA efflux in the AcbSh. This provides evidence that peri-adolescent EtOH-exposure produces long-lasting alterations in neural circuitry involved in EtOH-reinforcement, during adulthood.

This dissertation aims at determining the possible effects of alcoholic hangover on human behaviour by examining the effects of acute alcohol consumption (> 1g/kg) 14-16 hours following alcohol ingestion on simple and choice reaction times, divided attention tasks and driving skills. The hypotheses are that cognitive and behavioural functioning is impaired even after the blood alcohol concentration level has returned to zero The California Computerised Assessment Package (CALCAP) together with selected driving skills tasks, repeated breath analysis measures, a biographical questionnaire, a subjective hangover rating scale, and blood glucose tests were administered to a group of 63 mixed gender student volunteers. The experimental group and was tested prior to, and during hangover. The control group was pre- and post-tested in order to determif.le the impact of practice effects. Results indicate that hangover individuals performed less well than control subjects on measures of reaction time and driving precision. Further more, the findings show that subjective experience of hangover is not a good predictor of reaction time or driving performance, and that the absence of hangover symptoms does not guarantee full mental recovery. Statistical analysis of the data showed that post-test findings could not be attributed to a gender effect.
Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2000.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
Alcohol and cocaine are commonly co-abused drugs, and those meeting criteria for both cocaine and alcohol use disorders experience more severe behavioral and health consequences than those with a single disorder. Chronic alcohol (ethanol) drinking increased the reinforcing and dopamine (DA) neuronal stimulating effects of ethanol within mesolimbic regions of the central nervous system (CNS) of alcohol-preferring (P) rats. The objectives of the current study were to determine if chronic continuous ethanol drinking produced: (1) alterations in the sensitivity of the nucleus accumbens shell (AcbSh) to the reinforcing effects of cocaine, (2) changes in the magnitude and time course of the local stimulating effects of cocaine on posterior ventral tegmental area (pVTA) DA neurons, and (3) a persistence of alterations in the stimulating effects of cocaine after a period of protracted abstinence. Female P rats received continuous, free-choice access to water and 15% v/v ethanol for at least 10 wk (continuous ethanol-drinking; CE) or access to water alone (ethanol-naïve; N). A third group of rats received the same period of ethanol access followed by 30 d of protracted abstinence from ethanol (ethanol-abstinent; Ab). CE and Ab rats consumed, on average, 6-7 g/kg/d of ethanol. Animals with a single cannula aimed at the AcbSh responded for injections of cocaine into the AcbSh during four initial operant sessions. Cocaine was not present in the self-infused solution for the subsequent three sessions, and cocaine access was restored during one final session. Animals with dual ipsilateral cannulae aimed at the AcbSh and the pVTA were injected with pulsed microinfusions of cocaine into the pVTA while DA content was collected for analysis through a microdialysis probe inserted into the AcbSh. During the initial four sessions, neither CE nor N rats self-infused artificial cerebrospinal fluid (aCSF) or 0.1 mM cocaine into the AcbSh. CE, but not N, rats self-administered 0.5 mM cocaine into the AcbSh, whereas both groups self-infused concentrations of 1.0, 2.0, 4.0, or 8.0 mM cocaine. When cocaine access was restored in Session 8, CE rats responded more on the active lever and obtained more infusions of 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, or 4.0 mM cocaine compared to N rats. Microinjection of aCSF into the pVTA did not alter AcbSh DA levels in N, CE, or Ab rats. Microinjections of 0.25 mM cocaine into the pVTA did not significantly alter AcbSh DA levels in N animals, moderately increased DA levels in CE rats, and greatly increased DA levels in Ab rats. Microinjections of 0.5 mM cocaine into the pVTA modestly increased AcbSh DA levels in N animals, robustly increased DA levels in CE rats, and did not significantly alter DA levels in Ab rats. Microinjections of 1.0 or 2.0 mM cocaine into the pVTA modestly increased AcbSh DA levels in N animals but decreased DA levels in CE and Ab rats. Overall, long-term continuous ethanol drinking by P rats enhanced both the reinforcing effects of cocaine within the AcbSh and the stimulatory and inhibitory effects of cocaine on pVTA DA neurons. Alterations in the stimulatory and inhibitory effects of cocaine on pVTA DA neurons were not only enduring, but also enhanced, following a period of protracted abstinence from ethanol exposure. Translationally, prevention of chronic and excessive alcohol intake in populations with a genetic risk for substance abuse may reduce the likelihood of subsequent cocaine use.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
Despite warnings about the dangers of drinking during pregnancy, little progress has been made in reducing alcohol drinking among women of childbearing age. Even after the recognition of pregnancy, 15% of women continue to drink, 3% of which admit to binge drinking. Because we cannot stop women from drinking during pregnancy, and many children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) are adopted, there is a significant need to develop postnatal interventions that can improve the long-term outcome of children adversely affected by prenatal alcohol exposure. This thesis aims to evaluate one promising new treatment in the rehabilitation or rescue of specific learning deficits long after the damage has occurred. The treatment evaluated herein (40µg D-NAP + 40µg D-SAL) has long been used in the prevention of the detrimental effects of long-term and binge-like alcohol exposures in rodent models of fetal alcohol syndrome and FASD. Until recently this peptide treatment had only been shown to be effective in preventing some of the consequences of alcohol exposure when administered concurrently with the prenatal alcohol exposure. A recent report by Incerti and colleagues (2010c), however, reported that these peptides could completely reverse a profound spatial learning deficit induced by one episode of a heavy binge-like alcohol exposure (5.9g.kg in a single intraperitoneal injection) on gestational day 8 (G8) in C57BL/6 mice. In that report, the peptide treatment was administered starting in late adolescence, beginning three days prior to and throughout water maze training, and the profound deficits in their alcohol-placebo group were completely eliminated in the alcohol-peptide group. There are currently no FDA-approved treatments for FASD. An effective treatment for the cognitive and behavioral dysfunctions suffered by the 1% of people born today could potentially improve the lives of millions of children and adults. The first aim of this thesis was to determine whether the peptide treatment could reverse the significant spatial learning deficits we have demonstrated in adult C57BL/6 mice given high-dose binge-like alcohol exposure (2.5 g/kg in each of two intraperitoneal injections separated by two hours) on postnatal day (P)7. When administered three days prior to and throughout water maze testing (P67-76), the peptide treatment had no effect on spatial learning. The second aim sought to determine whether the same peptide treatment could reverse water maze spatial learning deficits in G8 binge-like exposure models, as reported by Incerti et al. (2010c). For this analysis, the first study used a different binge-like alcohol exposure model that is more commonly used than that employed by the Incerti et al. (2010c) study, namely administration of 2.8g/kg in each of two intraperitoneal injections separated by four hours (Sulik et al., 1981). This model has been shown to produce high peak blood alcohol concentrations and neuroanatomical aberrations in the hippocampal formation and septal regions (Parnell et al., 2009), which have been implicated in learning and memory. Surprisingly, this G8 binge-like alcohol exposure failed to produce a spatial learning deficit, undermining the usefulness of this model in evaluating the peptide effects. In direct contrast to the outcomes of Incerti et al. (2010c), the G8 Webster alcohol exposure was also unable to produce any deficits in acquisition of spatial learning in the Morris water maze. Surprisingly, neither of the heavy binge-like alcohol exposures on G8 were able to produce spatial learning deficits in the Morris water maze. The binge-like alcohol exposure on P7 did yield the expected spatial learning deficit, but the peptide treatment was unsuccessful in recovering water maze learning. These findings fail to support oral administration of 40µg D-NAP and 40 µg D-SAL as a potential therapy for postnatal alcohol-induced spatial learning deficits in adult mice.

D.Litt. et Phil.
The present work set out to evaluate whether the division on a neuropsychological basis between Korsakoff's amnesia and Kevin Walsh's Adaptive Behavioural Syndrome (ABS) was justified (Walsh, 1989). The research took the approach that the supposed agents responsible for the ABS (neurotoxicity of alcohol) and Korsakoff's syndrome (thiamine avitaminosis) had not been proven to produce site-specific lesions. Using Bowden (1990) as a point of departure, Luria's (1973) classic discussion of the hierarchical nature of brain functioning was used to generate the hypothesis that the two topographical areas of the brain are both subject to stimulation via the arousal mechanisms of the reticular activating system of the brainstem, and that this might well result in cortical arousal deficiencies giving rise to the frontal and axial deficits seen in alcohol related syndromes. Evidence was found, using techniques of analysis developed by the Boston group (Kaplan, 1980), that in fact the frontally-based ABS was less vulnerable to brainstem dysfunction, and that when arousal levels began to increase, as in the arousing neuropsychological evaluation environment, signs of frontal dysfunction waned, whilst signs of axial mnemonic difficulties did not. This discrepancy was explained using Luria's information that the frontal cortical areas are richly supplied with connections to the reticular activating system of the brainstem, whereas the axial structures are not so richly endowed. The conclusion was reached that the ASS and l(orsakoff's dysfunctions are two sides of the same coin, and that the division between the two is both an artifact of research designs in the past that have excluded those with signs of alcohol dementia ('pure' amnesias), and the heretofore invisible moderating influence of the acetaldehyde-damaged noradrenergic pathways of the brainstem. The post-traumatic amnesias seen following closed head injury and acute stress were discussed as contributing to the generalisability of the conclusions, and the role of neuropsychologists in the future within the field was discussed.

Gamma-aminobutyric acid type B (GABAB) receptor is a G protein coupled receptor (GPCR) that mediates decreased neural activity. It has two subunits, GABAB1 and GABAB2. Previous complementary DNA (cDNA) microarray data showed strong GABAB1 signals from human prefrontal cortex using an intron 4 region probe, and these studies indicated that novel intron 4 containing GABAB1 splicing variants exist. We cloned GABAB1k, l, m, and n including mouse GABAB1j. Expression of these variants are much lower than other major known splicing variants, but GABAB1k, l, m, and n levels are similar across brain tissues. GABAB1l and GABAB1m impair GABAB receptor induced function. To better define GABAB1 splicing in alcoholic brains, whole transcriptome shortgun sequencing (RNA-seq) experiments were proposed. Due to the complexity of GABAB1 splicing, we used gene specific libraries as well as whole transcriptome libraries to maximize GABAB1 specific splicing junction search. The splicing junction search data found that GABAB1 gene is 2 to 3 times longer than the previous known gene length. Extremely low expression at 5’ end exons was found, and GABAB1 exons were grouped based on expression levels. Chronic alcohol altered exon/intron expression and splicing junctions more than overall gene expression. Decreased exon expression at a GABA binding site, a transmembrane domain (TM), and a microRNA (miRNA) binding site may diminish the normal GABAB1 transcript population and compromise signal transduction following chronic alcohol exposure. This may explain why GABAB receptor agonists have therapeutic benefit in treating alcoholism. During the sequence mapping, read pile-ups and gaps were found from whole transcriptome libraries in known exons. These may prevent single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and splicing junction identification and gene expression calculations. Sequence analysis found sequence biases from their mapped reads. The major sequence biases were from RNaseIII RNA fragmentation and T4 polynucleotide kinase (T4PNK) reaction. Heat fragmentation and OptiKinase treatment removed the read pile-ups and gaps including the sequence biases. The identification of RNaseIII target sequences can be incorporated into methods of miRNA gene prediction. These data showed the complexity of GABAB1 receptor splicing and the perturbation of splicing by chronic alcohol abuse demonstrate the power of RNA-seq to provide new insight into gene expression and the role of GABAB receptors in alcoholism. In addition, many other important brain genes may have unexplored splicing variants which will be important for alcoholism and other psychiatric diseases. Also, new RNA-seq library constructions improved the quality of gene expression studies.
text

博士
國立臺灣大學
食品科技研究所
105
Excessive alcohol consumption can cause alcoholic fatty liver disease (AFLD). Recently, the scientists have found that gut microbiota may play a role in the pathogenesis or progression of certain liver diseases, including alcoholic liver disease, either through the direct effects of bacteria or their by-products (lipopolysaccharides, LPS) by triggering inflammatory mediators such as tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α). These inflammatory mediators can lead to systemic inflammation and organ damage, particularly to the liver and brain. Allicin is a pharmacologically active substance found in the fresh aqueous extract of garlic (Allium sativum, 大蒜, dasuan), which has been investigated for its antimicrobial, antioxidant, anticancer and hypolipidemic activity. The objectives of the study were to investigate (1) hepatoprotective effects of allicin against AFLD; (2) influence of allicin on cecal and fecal microbiota; and (3) interaction of gut microbiota, liver and brain in AFLD. Allicin was extracted from diallyl disulfide and m-chloroperbenzoic acid, followed by purification of the open column with silica gel and HPLC, and it achieved 95% purity and 3.86% yield. Male C57BL/6 mice were fed a control diet or an alcohol-containing liquid diet (Lieber-DeCarli diet). The mice were divided into 5 groups: (1) control diet, (2) control diet + allicin 20 mg/kg bw/day, (3) alcohol diet, (4) alcohol diet + allicin 5 mg/kg bw/day, and (5) alcohol diet 20 mg/kg bw/day. Allicin was orally administered daily to the AFLD mice for 4 weeks. The results indicated that allicin promoted hepatoprotection by significantly reducing aspartate transaminase (AST) and alanine transaminase (ALT) levels in the plasma, which are key indicators of liver damage. Allicin reduced fat accumulation, increased glutathione and catalase levels, and decreased microsomal protein cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1) expression in the livers of the AFLD mice. Furthermore, allicin supplementation significantly decreased the levels of hepatic pro-inflammatory tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, and IL-6 and suppressed the expression of sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1 (SREBP-1). Additionally, it improved the hepatic alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) activity. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that allicin attenuated liver oxidative stress and inflammation. In addition, next-generation sequencing (NGS) base DNA sequencing results revealed that alcohol and allicin influenced gut microbiota diversification in both cecum and feces. The impact of alcohol and allicin on gut microbiota in cecum and feces varied in type, ratio, and abundance. Overall, alcohol tended to induce bad effect on the gut microbiota. Allicin exhibited inhibitory effect on the gut microbiota both in cecum and feces that correlated with alcohol consumption. Supplementation with allicin in the control diet mice was enriched with Lactobacillus sakei in cecum and feces compared to control mice. Plasma LPS levels in alcohol diet mice were significantly lower than the mice intake with the control diet. Thus, chronic alcohol consumption for 4 weeks did not increase the LPS level in the plasma. In addition, alcohol-fed mice have reduced the gram-negative bacteria in the cecum compared to the control mice. 5 mg of allicin supplementation preserved the intestinal permeability compared in AFLD mice. To study the gut microbiota-liver-brain interaction, the TNF-α in plasma and the brain were evaluated. The TNF-α level was increased in both plasma and the brain. 5 mg of allicin supplementation reduced the brain inflammation by decreasing the TNF-α level. Because gram-negative bacteria and plasma LPS level in the AFLD group was lower than the control. Therefore, this study concluded that the cause of brain inflammation greatly more influenced by ethanol consumption than the LPS that derived from the gram-negative bacteria in the gut. In conclusion, allicin exhibited hepatoprotective effect against AFLD and it might be related to fecal and cecal microbiota in mice.

博士
臺北醫學大學
醫學科學研究所
98
Background: Alcohol withdrawal-enhanced neuroadaptation contributes to the addictive process. Delirium tremens (DTs) is the most serious complication of alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS) and postulated to be a clinically distinct phenotype among AWS. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays an important role in neuronal plasticity and learning related to addiction. Meanwhile, current evidence indicated a clear interaction between chronic alcohol consumption and disrupted circadian rhythmicity which is regulated by several circadian clock genes including hClock1, hBmal1, hPer1, hPer2, hCry1, hCry2. Studies exploring the altered expressions of these genes in alcohol addiction have been mainly described in animals. Therefore, we assessed the differences in serum BDNF levels as well as the mRNA expression of circadian clock genes, measured at baseline and one week after alcohol withdrawal among alcoholic patients with and without DT. Methods: Sixty-five inpatients, fulfilling the DSM-IV criteria of alcohol dependence and admitted for alcohol detoxification, as well as 39 healthy control subjects were enrolled. The alcoholic patients were further divided by the appearance of DTs into the DT group (n = 25) and non-DT group (n = 40). All the participants received blood withdrawal at 9-10 a.m. while the AD patients had blood collection for twice: on the next morning of admission (baseline) and on the 7th day. Among them, the PBMCs of 22 male alcoholics and 12 comparison control subjects were collected from the whole blood. Serum BDNF levels were measured by sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay while the mRNA expression profiles of hClock1, hBmal1, hPer1, hPer2, hCry1, hCry2 in PBMCs were determined by quantitative real-time PCR. Results: Serum BDNF levels differed significantly among the three groups: (1) control group 14.8 ± 4.7 ng/mL; (2) non-DT group 12.3 ± 3.3 ng/mL; (3) DT group 6.2 ± 2.6 ng/mL (p < 0.001). After one week after alcohol withdrawal, BDNF levels increased significantly for both alcoholic groups. While non-DT group had comparable BDNF levels (13.4 ± 3.5 ng/mL) with controls, the DT group still exhibited lower levels (8.9 ± 4.4 ng/mL). Regarding to the expression of circadian clock genes, baseline mRNA levels were markedly lower in AD patients than in control subjects. After one week of alcohol detoxification, there were very limited restorations of discrete circadian gene expressions. DT group did not differ in the expression patterns of circadian clock genes from non-DT group. Conclusions: The present study suggests chronic drinking leads to a reduction in BDNF levels and patients with more deficient BDNF expression are vulnerable to the development of DTs. BDNF levels elevated after prompt alcohol detoxification treatment. Therefore BDNF could involve modifying the phenotypes of AWS as well as the pertinent neuroadaptive processes of AD. In addition, we first demonstrated the overall lowering of circadian clock genes among AD patients. But, the expression pattern is comparable between patients with and without DTs. Though preliminary with data at only one single time point, the observation of strikingly reduced mRNA levels supports the association between circadian clock gene dysregulation and chronic alcohol intake.