Abstract
Compounds interacting with the GABA(A) receptor system modulate voluntary alcohol consumption in alcohol-preferring AA (Alko, Alcohol) rats. Therefore, we compared the central GABA(A) receptor pharmacology of the AA rats to that of their counterpart, alcohol-avoiding ANA (Alko, Non-Alcohol) rats with receptor autoradiography. Total flumazenil-sensitive [(3)H]Ro 15-4513 binding to the benzodiazepine site of GABA(A) receptor was slightly lower in the hippocampus, striate cortex and lateral hypothalamus of the AA than ANA rats. The proportions of zolpidem- and diazepam-sensitive components were similar in both rat lines. Basal picrotoxin-sensitive [(35)S]TBPS binding to the convulsant site of GABA(A) receptor was similar in most regions between the rat lines, but the up-modulation of the binding by 10 microM diazepam in the hippocampal, amygdaloid and entorhinal cortical areas was greater in the AA than ANA rats. These results do not reveal any general genetic defect in the GABA(A) receptors of AA or ANA rats, but the regional profile of the ligand binding differences between the lines, especially in the coupling of the benzodiazepine and chloride channel sites, suggests receptor subtype-specific changes in brain regions implicated in behavioural reward and anxiolysis.
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