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Uncontrolled drinking and affective disturbances during abstinence are hallmarks of alcohol use disorder and contribute to the pernicious nature of the disease. Both processes are regulated by the prefrontal cortex (PFC)–making it a key target for the development of novel interventions. In rodent models of alcohol use, reduced inhibition and increased excitatory drive have been consistently observed in projection neurons, but we have a limited understanding of drinking-related adaptations that occur on specific subtypes of inhibitory interneurons–a heterogeneous group of neurons that broadly control PFC function. To address this gap, we are currently examining how chronic drinking alters the physiology of interneurons expressing vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP-INs) in the mouse PFC.

Within PFC, VIP is selectively expressed in a subset of GABAergic interneurons and these cells preferentially target other class …