10 research outputs found

    Binge Drinking: In Search of its Molecular Target via the GABAA Receptor

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    Binge drinking, frequently referred to clinically as problem or hazardous drinking, is a pattern of excessive alcohol intake characterized by blood alcohol levels ≥0.08 g% within a 2-h period. Here, we show that overexpression of α1 subunits of the GABAA receptor contributes to binge drinking, and further document that this involvement is related to the neuroanatomical localization of α1 receptor subunits. Using a herpes simplex virus amplicon vector to deliver small interference RNA (siRNA), we showed that siRNA specific for the α1 subunit (pHSVsiLA1) caused profound, long-term, and selective reduction of gene expression, receptor density, and binge drinking in high-alcohol drinking rats when delivered into the ventral pallidum (VP). Scrambled siRNA (pHSVsiNC) delivered similarly into the VP failed to alter gene expression, receptor density, or binge drinking. Silencing of the α1 gene in the VP, however, failed to alter binge sucrose or water intake. These results, along with our prior research, provide compelling evidence that the α1-containing GABAA receptor subunits are critical in the regulation of binge-like patterns of excessive drinking. Collectively, these data may be useful in the development of gene-based and novel pharmacological approaches for the treatment of excessive drinking

    The Causes of Inner-City Poverty: Eight Hypotheses in Search of Reality

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    1981 Selected Bibliography

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    1994 Annual Selected Bibliography: Asian American Studies and the Crisis of Practice

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    1984 Selected Bibliography

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    Annual Selected Bibliography

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