title: Serotonin is reduced in the frontal cortex of Sardinian ethanol-preferring rats.
abstract: Ethanol-naive Sardinian alcohol-preferring (sP) and Sardinian alcohol-non-preferring (sNP) rats were tested to evaluate the levels of serotonin (5-HT) and 5-hydroxyindol-3-yl-acetic acid (5-HIAA) in the frontal cortex, hypothalamus, and nucleus accumbens, and the levels of dopamine (DA) and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) in the hypothalamus and nucleus accumbens. Compared with the sNP line, the sP rats had lower 5-HT and 5-HIAA concentrations in the frontal cortex, whereas no differences were found in the other brain areas tested, neither for neurotransmitters nor their metabolites. As the decreased 5-HT function is a feature shared by different alcohol-preferring strains, it could be linked to the genetic predisposition to voluntary ethanol consumption.
authors.affiliation: Bernard B. Brodie Department of Neuroscience, University of Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Devoto
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Colombo
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Stefanini
authors.forename: G L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Gessa
mesh_terms: D015102:3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000818:Animals; D001931:Brain Mapping; D004298:Dopamine / Q000502:physiology; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology; D005838:Genotype; D006897:Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D009714:Nucleus Accumbens / Q000503:physiopathology; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012701:Serotonin / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D015102:3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic Acid; D012701:Serotonin; D006897:Hydroxyindoleacetic Acid; D004298:Dopamine