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- Title
Ethanol consumption and resistance are inversely related to neuropeptide Y levels.
- Authors
Thiele, T E; Marsh, D J; Ste Marie, L; Bernstein, I L; Palmiter, R D
- Abstract
Genetic linkage analysis of rats that were selectively bred for alcohol preference identified a chromosomal region that includes the neuropeptide Y (NPY) gene. Alcohol-preferring rats have lower levels of NPY in several brain regions compared with alcohol-non-preferring rats. We therefore studied alcohol consumption by mice that completely lack NPY as a result of targeted gene disruption. Here we report that NPY-deficient mice show increased consumption, compared with wild-type mice, of solutions containing 6%, 10% and 20% (v/v) ethanol. NPY-deficient mice are also less sensitive to the sedative/hypnotic effects of ethanol, as shown by more rapid recovery from ethanol-induced sleep, even though plasma ethanol concentrations do not differ significantly from those of controls. In contrast, transgenic mice that overexpress a marked NPY gene in neurons that usually express it have a lower preference for ethanol and are more sensitive to the sedative/hypnotic effects of this drug than controls. These data are direct evidence that alcohol consumption and resistance are inversely related to NPY levels in the brain.
- Publication
Nature, 1998, Vol 396, Issue 6709, p366
- ISSN
0028-0836
- Publication type
Journal Article
- DOI
10.1038/24614