Mechanical Stimulation Alters Chronic Ethanol-Induced Changes to VTA GABA Neurons, NAc DA Release and Measures of Withdrawal

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 23; no. 20; p. 12630
• Main Authors: Bills, Kyle B., Otteson, Dallin Z., Jones, Gavin C., Brundage, James N., Baldwin, Emily K., Small, Christina A., Kim, Hee Young, Yorgason, Jordan T., Blotter, Jonathan D., Steffensen, Scott C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 20-10-2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Adaptation; alcohol; Behavior; Cocaine; Desensitization (Psychology); Dopamine; Drug dosages; Drug withdrawal; Emotional behavior; Ethanol; Firing rate; Gait; Mechanical stimuli; Mechanoreceptors; Narcotics; Neurons; Nucleus accumbens; physical medicine; Reinstatement; Stiffness; Ventral tegmentum; γ-Aminobutyric acid
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms232012630

Therapeutic activation of mechanoreceptors (MStim) in osteopathy, chiropractic and acupuncture has been in use for hundreds of years with a myriad of positive outcomes. It has been previously shown to modulate the firing rate of neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and dopamine (DA) release in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), an area of interest in alcohol-use disorder (AUD). In this study, we examined the effects of MStim on VTA GABA neuron firing rate, DA release in the NAc, and behavior during withdrawal from chronic EtOH exposure in a rat model. We demonstrate that concurrent administration of MStim and EtOH significantly reduced adaptations in VTA GABA neurons and DA release in response to a reinstatement dose of EtOH (2.5 g/kg). Behavioral indices of EtOH withdrawal (rearing, open-field crosses, tail stiffness, gait, and anxiety) were substantively ameliorated with concurrent application of MStim. Additionally, MStim significantly increased the overall frequency of ultrasonic vocalizations, suggesting an increased positive affective state.