# Neuropeptide Y: Role in Ethanol Intake and Sensitivity

> **NIH NIH R37** · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · 2021 · $28,646

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Alcohol (ethanol) dependence and relapse in abstinent alcoholics are major health problems throughout the
world and neurochemical pathways that modulate these disorders are currently under investigation. However,
the neurobiology underlying binge drinking, a dangerous pattern of behavior that proceeds and contributes to
dependence, has received far less attention. Thus, it is of paramount importance to identify the neurocircuitry in
the brain that modulates binge drinking as such knowledge will provide insight into the initial stages of alcohol
use disorders (AUDs). This application represents the request for a diversity supplement for the parent grant that
aims to study the role of neuropeptide Y (NPY) in the modulation of voluntary binge-like ethanol drinking in mice.
The trainee is an undergraduate student going into his senior year at the University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill. The research and career development training plan that is outline in this supplement will be critical to keep
the trainee on an accelerated trajectory so that he will be well prepared and highly competitive when he
transitions to the next level of training as a post-baccalaureate researcher and subsequently as a graduate
student with a focus on the neurobiology of alcoholism. Tasks will include working with the trainee directly on
literature searches, critical analysis and reviews of papers in lab meetings and journal clubs in which the trainee
learns to more effectively organize his thoughts on research and pass this information along to colleagues, and
direct supervision of the trainee in the lab as he learns new neuroscience techniques. There are four main training
activities associated with this plan: 1) training in ethics, 2) training in written and oral communication, 3) training
in networking to identify a postbaccalaureate mentor, and 4) laboratory research training. With respect to
research training, the trainee will be directly involved with the Specific Aims proposed in the parent grant, as well
as training outlined in this supplement in which he will assess the role of corticotropin releasing factor (CRF)
neurons that express NPY Y1 receptor (Y1R) in the modulation of binge-like ethanol intake in mice. He will study
these CRF/Y1R+ neurons in a circuit originating in the central amygdala and innervating the lateral habenula.
During these experiments the trainee will learn new cutting-edged neuroscience technologies, including confocal
microscopy, RNAscope, immunohistochemistry, and chemogenetics. The training outlined in this supplement
will be essential in helping the trainee achieve his short-term goal of becoming a highly competitive candidate
for securing a postbaccalaureate position in a strong research laboratory, and his long-term goal of securing a
graduate student position at a top university that will allow him to continue pursuing his research interests in the
neurobiology of alcoholism.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10402083
- **Project number:** 3R37AA013573-18S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL
- **Principal Investigator:** TODD Eric THIELE
- **Activity code:** R37 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $28,646
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2001-07-01 → 2023-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10402083

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10402083, Neuropeptide Y: Role in Ethanol Intake and Sensitivity (3R37AA013573-18S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10402083. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*