ArticleAlcohol and alcoholism (Oxford, Oxfordshire)2016
Peripheral Administration of Ethanol Results in a Correlated Increase in Dopamine and Serotonin Within the Posterior Ventral Tegmental Area.
Article in Alcohol and alcoholism (Oxford, Oxfordshire), 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 23 citations in OpenAlex.
- BDNF restores impaired long-term potentiation of GABAergic synapses induced by chronic ethanol exposure in the VTA and attenuates reward-seeking behavior.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Article
- Impact of adolescent ethanol binge on serotonin signaling and pain sensitivity post-withdrawal.Alcohol (Fayetteville, N.Y.) · 2025Article
- Synaptic Effects Induced by Alcohol.Current topics in behavioral neurosciences · 2025Review
- Inhibitory and excitatory conditioned cues associated with alcohol differentially modulate the nucleus accumbens shell: involvement of 5-HTFrontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Inhibitory and excitatory alcohol-seeking cues distinct roles in behavior, neurochemistry, and mesolimbic pathway in alcohol preferring (P) rats.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2023Article
- Synaptic effects of ethanol on striatal circuitry: therapeutic implications for dystonia.The FEBS journal · 2022Review
- Early postnatal allopregnanolone levels alteration and adult behavioral disruption in rats: Implication for drug abuse.Neurobiology of stress · 2020Article
- Concomitant taurine exposure counteracts ethanol-induced changes in locomotor and anxiety-like responses in zebrafish.Psychopharmacology · 2020Article
- Histamine, histamine HBritish journal of pharmacology · 2020Review
- Review
- Ethanol-induced enhancement of inhibitory synaptic transmission in the rat spinal substantia gelatinosa.Molecular painArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
aimsTwo critical neurotransmitter systems regulating ethanol (EtOH) reward are serotonin (5-HT) and dopamine (DA). Within the posterior ventral tegmental area (pVTA), 5-HT receptors have been shown to regulate DA neuronal activity. Increased pVTA neuronal activity has been linked to drug reinforcement. The current experiment sought to determine the effect of EtOH on 5-HT and DA levels within the pVTA.
methodsWistar rats were implanted with cannula aimed at the pVTA. Neurochemical levels were determined using standard microdialysis procedures with concentric probes. Rats were randomly assigned to one of the five groups (n = 41; 7-9 per group) that were treated with 0-3.0 g/kg EtOH (intraperitoneally).
resultsEthanol produced increased extracellular DA levels in the pVTA that resembled an inverted U-shape dose-response curve with peak levels (~200% of baseline) at the 2.25 g/kg dose. The increase in DA levels was observed for an extended period of time (~100 minutes). The effects of EtOH on extracellular 5-HT levels in the pVTA also resembled an inverted U-shape dose-response curve. However, increased 5-HT levels were only observed during the initial post-injection sample. The increases in extracellular DA and 5-HT levels were significantly correlated.
conclusionThe data indicate intraperitoneal EtOH administration stimulated the release of both 5-HT and DA within the pVTA, the levels of which were significantly correlated. Overall, the current findings suggest that the ability of EtOH to stimulate DA activity within the mesolimbic system may be modulated by increases in 5-HT release within the pVTA. SHORT SUMMARY: Two critical neurotransmitter systems regulating ethanol reward are serotonin and dopamine. The current experiment determined that intraperitoneal ethanol administration increased serotonin and dopamine levels within the pVTA (levels were significantly correlated). The current findings suggest the ability of EtOH to stimulate serotonin and dopamine activity within the mesolimbic system.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.