Program in Psychobiology of Addictions, Department of Psychology, Purdue School of Science, IUPUI, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
Alcohol. 2011 Mar;45(2):137-45. doi: 10.1016/j.alcohol.2010.08.019. Epub 2010 Sep 29.
Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is abundant in the mammalian brain and plays a prominent role in behaviors related to negative affect and alcohol. NPY suppresses anxiety-like behavior and alcohol-drinking behaviors in a wide array of rodent models and also affects changes in these behaviors produced by fearful and stressful stimuli. Rats selectively bred for high alcohol preference (P rats) appear to be particularly sensitive to the behavioral effects of NPY. The dual purpose of the present investigation was to determine the effects of intraventricular NPY on (1) the acoustic startle response (ASR) of P rats in a high-anxiety setting and (2) social interaction behavior of P rats. In experiment 1, P rats were either cycled through periods of long-term ethanol access and abstinence or they remained ethanol naive. Rats were injected with one of four NPY doses and tested for ASR before and after footshock stress. NPY suppressed ASR in all P rats regardless of shock condition or drinking history. In experiment 2, rats received intraventricular infusion of one of four NPY doses and were then injected with either ethanol (0.75 g/kg) or saline and tested for social interaction. NPY increased social interaction in P rats even at doses that suppressed locomotor activity, regardless of ethanol dose. Suppression of anxiety-like and arousal behaviors by NPY in the present study confirm a role for NPY in alcohol-related behaviors in alcohol-preferring P rats.
神经肽 Y（NPY）在哺乳动物大脑中含量丰富，在与负面情绪和酒精相关的行为中发挥着重要作用。NPY 抑制了多种啮齿动物模型中的焦虑样行为和饮酒行为，并且还影响了恐惧和应激刺激产生的这些行为的变化。选择性繁殖的高酒精偏好大鼠（P 大鼠）似乎对 NPY 的行为影响特别敏感。本研究的双重目的是确定脑室注射 NPY 对（1）高焦虑环境下 P 大鼠的听觉惊吓反应（ASR）和（2）P 大鼠的社交互动行为的影响。在实验 1 中，P 大鼠经历了长期酒精摄入和戒断的循环，或者保持酒精-naive 状态。大鼠被注射四种 NPY 剂量之一，并在足底电击应激前后测试 ASR。无论应激条件或饮酒史如何，NPY 均抑制了所有 P 大鼠的 ASR。在实验 2 中，大鼠接受了四种 NPY 剂量之一的脑室输注，然后注射了乙醇（0.75 g/kg）或生理盐水，并测试了社交互动。NPY 增加了 P 大鼠的社交互动，即使在抑制运动活动的剂量下，也与乙醇剂量无关。本研究中 NPY 对焦虑样和觉醒行为的抑制作用证实了 NPY 在酒精偏好 P 大鼠的酒精相关行为中的作用。
