Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a rapidly growing concern in the United States. Current
trending escalations of alcohol use are associated with a concurrent rise in alcohol-related …

The dopaminergic (DA) neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) are important for the
reinforcing effects of ethanol. We have shown that ethanol directly excites DA VTA neurons …

Ethanol-induced excitation of ventral tegmental area dopamine (DA VTA) neurons is thought
to be critical for the reinforcing effects of ethanol. Although ligand-gated ion channels are …

Alcohol abuse is a worldwide public health concern, yet the precise molecular targets of
alcohol in the brain are still not fully understood. Alcohol may promote its euphoric and …

A bidirectional relationship between stress and ethanol exists whereby stressful events are
comorbid with problematic ethanol use and prolonged ethanol exposure results in …

It is known that the posterior ventral tegmental area (p-VTA) differs from the anterior VTA (a-
VTA) in that rats learn to self-administer ethanol into the p-VTA, but not into the a-VTA …

Changing the activity of ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine neurons from pacemaker to
burst firing is hypothesized to increase the salience of stimuli, such as an unexpected …

Dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area of Tsai (VTA) have been implicated in
the mediation of the rewarding effects of ethanol and many other drugs of abuse. Our …

The dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus (DMV) receives more noradrenergic terminals than
any other medullary nucleus; few studies, however, have examined the effects of …

Background Ventral tegmental area (VTA) GABA neurons have been heavily implicated in
alcohol reinforcement and reward. In animals that self‐administer alcohol, VTA GABA …