also have reduced expression and function of CB1 in several brain regions including the dorsal striatum, NAc, and hippocampus (Vinod et al., 2008a). A consistent finding from these studies is that reduced FAAH activity is correlated with decreased expression of the CB1 receptor and increased ethanol preference. These results are in line with those in the preceding section indicating that acute ethanol facilitates EC synthesis and release (Basavarajappa et al., 2008; Perra et al., 2008; Perra et al., 2005), and the reduction of CB1 expression observed in these studies is likely a compensatory mechanism for enhanced AEA tone.
