We report here that prior social experience modified the behavioral responses of adult crayfish to acute alcohol exposure. Animals housed individually for one week before alcohol exposure were less sensitive to the intoxicating effects of alcohol than animals housed in groups, and these differences are based on changes in the nervous system rather than differences in alcohol uptake. To elucidate the underlying neural mechanisms, we investigated the neurophysiological responses of the lateral giant (LG) interneurons after alcohol exposure. Specifically, we measured the interactions between alcohol and different GABA_A-receptor antagonists and agonists in reduced crayfish preparations devoid of brain-derived tonic GABAergic inhibition. We found that alcohol significantly increased the postsynaptic potential of the LG neurons, but contrary to our behavioral observations, the results were similar for isolated and communal animals. The GABA_A-receptor antagonist picrotoxin, however, facilitated LG postsynaptic potentials more strongly in communal crayfish, which altered the neurocellular interactions with alcohol, while TPMPA, an antagonist directed against GABA_A-receptors with rho subunits, did not produce any effects. Muscimol, an agonist for GABA_A-receptors, blocked the stimulating effects of alcohol, but this was independent of prior social history. THIP, an agonist directed against GABA_A-receptors with delta subunits, which were not previously known to exist in the LG circuit, replicated the suppressing effects of muscimol. Together, our findings provide strong evidence that alcohol interacts with the crayfish GABAergic system, and the interplay between prior social experience and acute alcohol intoxication might be linked to changes in the expression and function of specific GABA_A-receptor subtypes.

中文翻译：

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小龙虾神经回路中社会经验、酒精敏感性和 GABA 能抑制之间的细胞相互作用

我们在此报告，先前的社会经验改变了成年小龙虾对急性酒精暴露的行为反应。与成组饲养的动物相比，在接触酒精前单独饲养 1 周的动物对酒精的致醉作用不太敏感，这些差异是基于神经系统的变化，而不是酒精摄入的差异。为了阐明潜在的神经机制，我们研究了酒精暴露后外侧巨 (LG) 中间神经元的神经生理反应。具体来说，我们测量了酒精和不同 GABA _A之间的相互作用- 受体拮抗剂和激动剂，用于无脑源性强效 GABA 能抑制的还原小龙虾制剂中。我们发现酒精显着增加了 LG 神经元的突触后电位，但与我们的行为观察相反，孤立和公共动物的结果相似。然而，GABA _A受体拮抗剂 picrotoxin 在公共小龙虾中更强烈地促进 LG 突触后电位，这改变了神经细胞与酒精的相互作用，而 TPMPA，一种针对具有 rho 亚基的GABA _A受体的拮抗剂，没有产生任何影响。Muscimol，GABA _A的激动剂-受体，阻断酒精的刺激作用，但这与先前的社会历史无关。THIP 是一种针对具有 delta 亚基的GABA _A受体的激动剂，以前不知道存在于 LG 回路中，复制了 muscimol 的抑制作用。总之，我们的研究结果提供了强有力的证据，表明酒精与小龙虾 GABA 能系统相互作用，先前的社会经验和急性酒精中毒之间的相互作用可能与特定 GABA _A受体亚型的表达和功能的变化有关。