Projects

A strength of the Vanderbilt AUD Research and Education Center (VAREC) is the diversity of research questions and experimental approaches which are brought together within a cohesive and interactive framework of clinical and preclinical researchers. Due to the multifaceted nature of AUD, understanding the neural mechanisms underlying many of the AUD-relevant phenotypes requires studies that integrate information from the behavioral, circuit, and molecular levels. VAREC allows for an integration of research aimed at collaboratively answering this complex question.

projects
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Project 2

Investigating individual differences in alcohol abstinence associated anxiety and depression across the BNST network

Alcohol use disorder is a complex group of disorders involving excessive uncontrolled alcohol intake. Our recent human imaging data suggest distinct circuits of interest in male and female AUD subjects during abstinence.

In this proposal, we will explore the insula-BNST circuit in female mice, testing whether negative affective disturbances that emerge during abstinence are associated with the relative strength of this pathway.

We will further assess the therapeutic potential of the endocannabinoid system at this synapse by utilizing a novel genetic strategy of deletion of the CB1 cannabinoid receptor and the endocannabinoid 2-AG synthetic enzyme DAG lipase in patterns to determine its specific contribution to AUD-related behaviors at the insula­ BNST synapse.

In male mice, we will explore the disruption of the ventral hippocampal-BNST-hypothalamic circuit suggested by human imaging data in a model of operant alcohol seeking behavior.

Finally, we will perform novel tracing strategies to determine afferent inputs to these pathways to inform future human imaging studies.

Project Lead

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