Emily  Bian,Jiang-Hong Ye,Jing Li ,Michal  Gajewski ,Nimisha  Shiwalkar,Qing  Fan,Qinghua Mei ,Rao Fu ,Wanhong Zuo ,Xiao  Han,
Pain, Anxiety- and Depression-Like Behaviors in Alcohol-Preferring and -NonPreferring Rats
Neurology and Neurobiology
2020
2613-7828
http://dx.doi.org/10.31487/j.NNB.2020.02.05
https://www.sciencerepository.org/pain-anxiety-and-depression-like-behaviors-in-alcohol-preferring_NNB-2020-2-105 
Abstract: Introduction: Psychiatric disorders such as anxiety, hyperalgesia, and depression have been associated with
excessive alcohol drinking, but the neuronal mechanisms involved are only partially understood.
Alcoholism more often occurs in individuals with a family history, indicating that genes may play a critical
role. Chronic alcohol exposure alters calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) signaling
in the lateral habenula (LHb), and the LHb is implicated in mediating aversive behaviors, including those
related to alcohol. We compared the CaMKII signaling in the LHb and the aberrant behaviors in the
selectively bred alcohol-preferring (P) and alcohol-non-preferring (NP) lines of rats.
Materials and Methods: The responses to mechanical (Von Frey) and thermal (Hargreaves) nociception
tests, anxiety- (elevated plus maze, Marble burying) and depressive-like behaviors (forced swimming) were
examined in the alcohol-naïve P and NP rats, as well as in P rats after 4-8 weeks of alcohol consumption;
their LHb tissues were also collected for Western blot analysis of CaMKII expression.
Results: Compared to NP rats, the P rats had a higher sensitivity to mechanical stimuli, and displayed
depressive- and anxiety-like behaviors, as well as a higher level of CaMKII in the LHb. Alcohol
consumption alleviated all these behaviors, except for anxiety, and decreased CaMKII levels in the LHb of
P rats.
Conclusions: The results show that selective breeding for different oral alcohol preference has produced
differences in nociception, anxiety, and depression, as well as CaMKII expression in the LHb of P and NP
rats. P rats may deal with pain and depression by self-medicating with alcohol.Keywords: Nociception, elevated plus maze, Hargreaves, Von Frey, marble burying, CaMKII