Zhou F C, Bledsoe S, Lumeng L, Li T K
Department of Anatomy, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis 46202.
Alcohol. 1991 Nov-Dec;8(6):425-31. doi: 10.1016/s0741-8329(91)90034-t.
The levels of serotonin (5-HT) and 5-hydroxyindole-acetic acid (5-HIAA) are decreased in the hippocampus, nucleus accumbens, and cortex of selectively bred alcohol-preferring (P) rats, compared with the alcohol-nonpreferring (NP) rats. In this study, we have confirmed these findings by immunocytochemistry and quantitative image analysis which indicates that there is a reduction of 5-HT immunostained fibers in several brain areas of alcohol-naive P rats. Three major areas possibly related to alcohol drinking, hippocampus, accumbens, and cortex, were examined. Pathways to these areas were also examined. The 5-HT fiber bundles had the same pattern in P and NP rats. However, in the terminal regions of the ventral hippocampus, the amount of 5-HT fibers was reduced in P rats as compared with NP rats. The 5-HT fibers in the hilus and CA4 of the dentate gyrus were also significantly decreased in the P rats. No differences in fiber density were seen in the anterior nucleus accumbens, but a significant decrease was seen in the middle medial and posterior accumbens of P rats. In the cortical regions examined, decreases in 5-HT fibers were observed in the posterior cingulum and anterior frontal cortex, but not in the insular frontal cortex of P rats. These observations indicate that there are quantitative decreases in 5-HT innervations or that the 5-HT in some 5-HT fibers is reduced to a level undetectable by immunocytochemistry in the brains of P rats when compared with that of NP rats.
与非嗜酒（NP）大鼠相比，选择性培育的嗜酒（P）大鼠海马体、伏隔核和皮层中的血清素（5-羟色胺，5-HT）及5-羟吲哚乙酸（5-HIAA）水平降低。在本研究中，我们通过免疫细胞化学和定量图像分析证实了这些发现，结果表明未接触酒精的P大鼠多个脑区中5-HT免疫染色纤维减少。研究了可能与饮酒相关的三个主要脑区，即海马体、伏隔核和皮层，还研究了通向这些脑区的神经通路。P大鼠和NP大鼠的5-HT纤维束模式相同。然而，与NP大鼠相比，P大鼠腹侧海马体终末区域的5-HT纤维数量减少。P大鼠齿状回门区和CA4区的5-HT纤维也显著减少。伏隔核前部的纤维密度未见差异，但P大鼠伏隔核中间内侧和后部的纤维密度显著降低。在所检查的皮质区域中，P大鼠的扣带回后部和前额叶前部皮质5-HT纤维减少，但岛叶前额皮质未见减少。这些观察结果表明，与NP大鼠相比，P大鼠大脑中5-HT神经支配存在定量减少，或者某些5-HT纤维中的5-HT减少到免疫细胞化学检测不到的水平。
