Alcohol use disorder is a chronic disease characterized in part by repeated relapsing events. Exposure to environmental stimuli or cues that have previously been associated with the effects of alcohol can promote relapse through the triggering of craving for alcohol. Therefore, identifying and characterizing neuronal populations that may regulate these associations is of the upmost importance. Previous studies have implicated the centrally-projecting Edinger Westphal nucleus (EWcp) in this process, as the EWcp is both sensitive to, and can regulate alcohol intake. To date however, it is unclear if the EWcp is involved in the formation or expression of these alcohol-cue associations. As such, the present studies examined the involvement of the EWcp in male DBA/2J mice in the acquisition and expression of place preference for an alcohol-paired cue using the conditioned place preference (CPP) procedure. Pharmacological inhibition of the EWcp via the GABAA and GABAB receptor agonists muscimol and baclofen did not affect either the acquisition or the expression of CPP. Follow up studies did find however, that pharmacological inhibition of the EWcp increased body temperature and prevented alcohol-induced increases in c-Fos expression in the EWcp. When considered in light of previous studies, the present results indicate that the EWcp may be involved in the regulation of alcohol self-administration, and not conditioned alcohol-seeking. Additionally, the present studies provide further evidence for the involvement of the EWcp in thermoregulation and help elucidate the molecular mechanism by which alcohol increases c-Fos in the EWcp.

中文翻译：

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中央投射的 Edinger-Westphal 核的药理学抑制对乙醇诱导的条件性位置偏爱和体温的影响。

酒精使用障碍是一种慢性疾病，其部分特征是反复复发事件。暴露于先前与酒精影响相关的环境刺激或线索可以通过触发对酒精的渴望来促进复发。因此，识别和表征可能调节这些关联的神经元群是最重要的。之前的研究表明，中央投射的 Edinger Westphal 核 (EWcp) 参与了这一过程，因为 EWcp 对酒精摄入既敏感又能调节酒精摄入量。然而，迄今为止，尚不清楚 EWcp 是否参与了这些酒精提示关联的形成或表达。像这样，目前的研究使用条件性位置偏爱 (CPP) 程序检查了 EWcp 在雄性 DBA/2J 小鼠中对酒精配对提示的位置偏爱的获取和表达的参与。通过 GABAA 和 GABAB 受体激动剂蝇蕈醇和巴氯芬对 EWcp 的药理学抑制不影响 CPP 的获得或表达。然而，后续研究确实发现，EWcp 的药理学抑制会增加体温并阻止酒精诱导的 EWcp 中 c-Fos 表达的增加。当考虑到以前的研究时，目前的结果表明 EWcp 可能参与酒精自我管理的调节，而不是有条件的酒精寻求。此外，