The anxiolytic effects of neuropeptide Y (NPY) are mediated in part by the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA), a brain region involved in the regulation of alcohol-drinking behaviors. Centrally administered NPY suppresses alcohol drinking in subpopulations of rats vulnerable to the development of high alcohol-drinking behavior.
The purpose of the current study was to determine the role of NPY in the CeA on elevated alcohol drinking produced by alcohol dependence
These results indicate that NPY abolishes dependence-induced elevations in alcohol drinking and implicate the recruitment of limbic NPY systems in the motivational drive to consume alcohol following the transition to dependence.
Read Full Text (PDF)
________________________________________________________
