Department of Forensic Psychiatry, University of Eastern Finland, Niuvanniemi Hospital, Kuopio, Finland.
Psychiatry Res. 2013 Jun 30;212(3):245-50. doi: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2012.04.003. Epub 2012 Nov 11.
Increased glutamatergic neurotransmission and hyper-excitability during alcoholic withdrawal and abstinence are associated with increased risk for relapse, in addition to compensatory changes in the glutamatergic system during chronic alcohol intake. Type 5 metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGlur5) is abundant in brain regions known to be involved in drug reinforcement, yet very little has been published on mGluR1/5 expression in alcoholics. We evaluated the densities of mGluR1/5 binding in the hippocampus and striatum of post-mortem human brains by using [(3)H]Quisqualic acid as a radioligand in whole hemispheric autoradiography of Cloninger type 1 (n=9) and 2 (n=8) alcoholics and healthy controls (n=10). We observed a 30-40% higher mGluR1/5 binding density in the CA2 area of hippocampus in type 1 alcoholics when compared with either type 2 alcoholics or healthy subjects. Although preliminary, and from a relatively small number of subjects from these diagnostic groups, these results suggest that the mGluR1/5 receptors may be increased in type 1 alcoholics in certain brain areas.
在酒精戒断和禁欲期间，谷氨酸能神经传递和过度兴奋增加，这与复发的风险增加有关，此外，在慢性酒精摄入期间，谷氨酸能系统也会发生代偿性变化。5 型代谢型谷氨酸受体（mGlur5）在已知参与药物强化的大脑区域中丰富，但关于酒精中毒患者中 mGluR1/5 表达的研究很少。我们通过使用 [(3)H]Quisqualic acid 作为放射性配体，在 1 型（n=9）和 2 型（n=8）酒精中毒者和健康对照组（n=10）的整个大脑半球放射自显影中，评估了海马体和纹状体中 mGluR1/5 结合的密度。与 2 型酒精中毒者或健康受试者相比，1 型酒精中毒者海马体 CA2 区的 mGluR1/5 结合密度高 30-40%。尽管这些结果初步来自这些诊断组的相对少数受试者，但表明在某些大脑区域中，mGluR1/5 受体可能在 1 型酒精中毒者中增加。
