Background
Ethanol is known to have excitatory effects on dopamine (DA) release, with moderate to high doses (0.5–2.5 g/kg) of acute ethanol enhancing DA neuron firing rates in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and DA levels in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). Ethanol has also been shown to reduce DA activity, with moderate doses (1–2 g/kg) attenuating electrically evoked release, and higher doses (5 g/kg) decreasing NAc DA levels, demonstrating a biphasic effect of ethanol on DA release. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate ethanol’s inhibitory effects on NAc DA terminal release under low- and high-frequency stimulation conditions.
Methods
Using fast-scan cyclic voltammetry in NAc slices from C57BL/6J mice, we examined ethanol’s (40–160 mM) effects on DA release under several different stimulation parameters, varying frequency (5–125 Hz), number of pulses (1–10), and stimulation intensity (50–350 µA). Additionally, calcium concentrations were manipulated under high-frequency stimulation conditions (20 Hz, 10 pulses, 350 µA) in order to determine if ethanol’s effects were dependent upon calcium concentration, and by extension, the amount of DA release.
Results
Acute ethanol (40–160 mM) inhibited DA release to a greater extent under high-frequency, multiple-pulse stimulation conditions, with increased sensitivity at 5 and 10 pulses and frequencies of 20 Hz or higher. High-frequency, multiple-pulse stimulations also resulted in greater DA release compared to single-pulse release, which was controlled by reducing stimulation intensity. Under reduced DA conditions, high-frequency stimulations still showed increased ethanol sensitivity. Reducing calcium levels also decreased DA release at high-frequency stimulations, but did not affect ethanol sensitivity.
Conclusions
Ethanol appears to inhibit DA release at NAc terminals under high-frequency stimulation conditions that are similar to release events observed during phasic burst firing in DAergic neurons, suggesting that ethanol may provide inhibition of DA terminals selectively during phasic signaling, while leaving tonic DA terminal activity unaffected.