Ingenuity® pathways analysis indicated 22 significant pathways with 5 or more genes that were altered in the Acb-sh by ethanol drinking, whereas only 4 canonical pathways were observed in the CeA (Table 4). In the Acb-sh, several major intracellular signaling pathways (i.e., cAMP-mediated, glucocorticoid receptor, G-protein coupled receptor and protein kinase A signaling pathways) were altered by adolescent alcohol drinking. Although cAMP-mediated signaling was observed for both regions, there was only one gene in common within this pathway, i.e., Dusp1. In all 4 signaling pathways in the Acb-sh, there were approximately 3-fold more genes with higher expression in the ethanol group compared to control values. In the cAMP-mediated signaling pathway in the CeA, 5 of the 6 genes were up-regulated in the alcohol group.
