# The role of a nucleus tractus solitarius-central amygdala circuit in alcohol-induced plasticity and drinking behavior

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · 2022 · $349,875

## Abstract

Alcoholism is a complex disorder characterized by neuroadaptive changes in specific brain regions and circuits
that promote adverse behavioral outcomes associated with alcohol dependence. Previous studies have focused
on the role of the central amygdala (CeA) in the extended amygdala, however, CeA connections with other brain
regions can also influence CeA responsivity to ultimately alter behavior. One region that forms reciprocal
connections with the CeA is the Nucleus Tractus Solitarius (NTS). The NTS receives sensory input from the
periphery and acts as an integrative autonomic center. The CeA confers emotional relevance to internal and
external sensory input. Thus, the NTS  CeA circuit represents a potential conduit by which peripheral state
can influence emotional reactivity and emotional state can impact peripheral function. In that context, the NTS
CeA circuit may also represent an important target for acute and chronic ethanol and an understudied source of
circuit dysfunction that alters drinking behavior. The overarching goal of this proposal is to employ a combined
electrophysiological, molecular, and behavioral approach with functional circuit mapping using optogentics and
chemogenetics to examine NTS microcircuitry, the sensitivity of NTS neurons to ethanol exposure, and the role
of the NTSCeA circuit in drinking behavior and the development of alcohol dependence. Molecular and
electrophysiological studies will be used to identify distinct components of NTS microcircuitry and the impact of
acute in vitro and chronic in vivo ethanol on synaptic transmission and activity in NTS circuit components.
Retrograde tracing, electrophysiological, optogenetic, and chemogenetic studies will be used to identify specific
components of the NTS CeA circuit in the NTS and CeA to determine the impact of chronic ethanol on these
specific components at a cellular and circuit level. Chemogenetic and behavioral studies of voluntary ethanol
consumption will be used to assess the role of the NTS CeA circuit in drinking. Collectively, these studies
will provide new information on the role of the NTS and the NTS CeA circuit in the cellular and circuit
mechanisms underlying ethanol dependence.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10386868
- **Project number:** 5R01AA026858-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL
- **Principal Investigator:** Melissa A Herman
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $349,875
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-05-10 → 2024-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10386868

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10386868, The role of a nucleus tractus solitarius-central amygdala circuit in alcohol-induced plasticity and drinking behavior (5R01AA026858-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-11 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10386868. Licensed CC0.

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