Fear is an adaptive component of the acute “stress” response to potentially-dangerous
(external and internal) stimuli which threaten to perturb homeostasis. However, when …

The past two decades have witnessed a dramatic accumulation of evidence indicating that
the excitatory amino acid glutamate plays an important role in drug addiction and …

The central nucleus of amygdala (CeA) is important in regulating alcohol consumption and
plays a major role in the anxiogenic response to ethanol withdrawal. We showed previously …

The neurobiological processes by which ethanol seeking and consumption are established
and maintained are thought to involve areas of the brain that mediate motivated behavior …

Using a well-established model of ethanol dependence and relapse, this study examined
adaptations in glutamatergic transmission in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and their role in …

The glutamate receptor-associated protein Homer2 regulates alcohol-induced
neuroplasticity within the nucleus accumbens (NAC), but the precise intracellular signaling …

Homer proteins are integral to the assembly of proteins regulating glutamate signaling and
synaptic plasticity. Constitutive Homer2 gene deletion [knock-out (KO)] and rescue with …

Background: Repeated alcohol administration alters nucleus accumbens (NAC) basal
glutamate content and sensitizes the capacity of alcohol to increase NAC extracellular …

Alcohol use increases across adolescence and is a concern in the United States. In humans,
males and females consume different amounts of alcohol depending on the age of initiation …

Background: Homer proteins are constituents of scaffolding complexes that regulate the
trafficking and function of central Group1 metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) and N …