The effects of adolescent binge-like alcohol exposure on several brain regions have been studied. There was reduced basal α-MSH immune-reactivity in the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA; Lerma-Cabrera et al., 2013). Binge-like ethanol administration to adolescent rats led to lower c-fos immune-reactivity in the nucleus accumbens (Alaux-Cantin et al., 2013). Binge-like alcohol drinking by adolescent P rats led to many changes within the extended amygdala (McBride et al., 2014) and in the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) (McClintick et al., 2015). In the DRN, the serotonin system was most significantly altered with decreased expression in receptors, transporters, and enzymes that synthesize serotonin (McClintick et al., 2015). GABAA receptors were also decreased in the DRN, as were many genes in neuropeptide systems (McClintick et al., 2015). Both the extended amygdala and DRN showed changes in cAMP and protein kinase A signaling. Receptors for NPY were increased in the extended amygdala but decreased in the DRN (McBride et al., 2014, McClintick et al., 2015).
