Our report is the first to follow neurogenesis in forebrain SVZ during prolonged alcohol dependence and abstinence. Similar to the dentate gyrus, prolonged alcohol exposure suppressed SVZ neurogenesis, in the absence of effects on SOX2-expressing cells. The rodent and human SVZ are thought to contain true neuronal stem cells, with greater pluripotency than the neural precursor cells of the hippocampus (Quinones-Hinojosa et al. 2006; Seaberg & van der Kooy, 2002). The SVZ stem cells are heterogeneous, and encompass rapidly dividing cells, early neuroblasts and migrating neuroprogenitors (Doetsch et al. 1997). SOX2 is a stem cell transcription factor that identifies a subset of stem cells likely to represent the most pluripotent stem cells of the adult brain (Brazel et al. 2005; Ellis et al. 2004; Episkopou, 2005). Previous observations in the dentate gyrus have suggested that chronic alcohol exposure can disrupt neurogenesis by decreasing neural precursor cell proliferation, inhibiting cell survival and altering morphological maturation of newborn neurons (He et al. 2005). The initial suppression of SVZ neurogenesis following alcohol exposure occurred in the absence of effects on SOX2-positive cells, and
