# Investigating the effects of adolescent binge drinking on prelimbic somatostatin circuitry

> **NIH NIH F31** · PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY, THE · 2022 · $37,879

## Abstract

PROJECT ABSTRACT
Binge drinking during adolescence has been identified as a potential risk factor for alcohol use disorder (AUD)
in adulthood. Despite this, the precise neuronal populations which are altered by adolescent drinking, and which
may contribute to changes in adulthood drinking, have not been fully characterized. Somatostatin (SST)-
expressing neurons in the prelimbic (PL) cortex are altered by adult binge drinking in animals models, and
manipulating the activity of these neurons can reduce binge drinking. The goal of this proposal is to determine
the role of SST neurons following adolescent binge drinking, as well as during escalated adulthood alcohol
consumption following adolescent exposure. The first set of experiments will use whole-cell patch-clamp
electrophysiology and fiber photometry to understand how adolescent alcohol use affects SST neurons in the PL
cortex. The second set of experiments will use behavioral and chemogenetic manipulations to identify a causal
role for SST neurons in changes in adulthood alcohol consumption after adolescent binge drinking.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10535596
- **Project number:** 1F31AA030455-01
- **Recipient organization:** PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY, THE
- **Principal Investigator:** Avery Sicher
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $37,879
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-08-01 → 2026-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10535596

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10535596, Investigating the effects of adolescent binge drinking on prelimbic somatostatin circuitry (1F31AA030455-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10535596. Licensed CC0.

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