Aberrant decision-making is both a risk factor for, and the result of, an Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD). Thus, identifying the neural mechanisms regulating drinking decisions may lead to unique prevention and intervention strategies. The current study demonstrates that the intent to drink alcohol is encoded by the activity of neural populations within the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). However, the encoding of this intention signal is greatly reduced in a population of rodents with an extensive family history of high alcohol consumption. These data suggest that identifying strategies to restore the contribution of mPFC in the decision to drink alcohol may provide effective targets to treat an AUD, particularly in those with family history of AUDs.
