Increased inhibition of DA release by kappa opiate receptors was also observed in monkey caudate following chronic ethanol drinking (Siciliano, Calipari et al. 2015). Increases in ligand binding to dopamine transporters and increased DA uptake in DS have also been reported following alcohol exposure or consumption (Jiao, Pare et al. 2006, Budygin, Oleson et al. 2007). Co-release of GABA from dopamine neuron projections to the dorsal striatum (Tritsch, Ding et al. 2012) was found to be depressed by acute ethanol concentrations seen during binge drinking (~30 mM) and deletion of the enzyme aldehyde dehydrogenase selectively in dopamine neurons where it is thought to mediate GABA synthesis caused an increase in ethanol drinking in mice (Kim, Ganesan et al. 2015).
