and limbic regions, and these circuits play a critical role in alcohol drinking and alcohol-related neuroadaptations (Wang et al. 2010; DePoy et al. 2013; Fanelli et al. 2013; Corbit et al. 2012). Therefore, understanding differences in basal functioning between the DS of HAP and LAP mice is likely relevant to a number of the alcohol-related phenotypes observed in these animals. Our laboratory recently examined the electrophysiological properties of DS GABAergic medium spiny neurons (MSNs), which account for ~95% of the cells in the this region (Tepper et al. 2007), of alcohol-naïve HAP and LAP mice (Fritz et al. 2019). MSNs in the DS were significantly more excitable in HAP relative to LAP mice. In addition, our findings suggested that presynaptic glutamate and GABA release were significantly enhanced in HAP relative to LAP DS. Finally, the ratio of DS AMPA to NMDA receptor mediated transmission was significantly lower in HAP relative to LAP mice, indicating that lines differences in postsynaptic glutamate receptor characteristics exist (Fritz et al. 2019).
