neuronal death, which is associated with reduced CREB (Hardingham and Bading 2010). Chronic ethanol exposure interferes with the normal functions of CREB. Thus, the levels of CREB phosphorylation and CREB–DNA binding as well as of the target gene BDNF all were decreased in the rat frontal cortex following a 24-hour withdrawal from chronic ethanol exposure (Pandey et al. 1999, 2001). In addition, neuropeptide Y levels were reduced in the cortex following ethanol treatment, an effect that was accompanied by reduced levels of phosphorylated CREB (Bison and Crews 2003).
