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Nucleus Accumbens MC4-R Stimulation Reduces Food and Ethanol Intake in Adult Rats Regardless of Binge-Like Ethanol Exposure during Adolescence

Overview of attention for article published in Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, September 2017
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Title
Nucleus Accumbens MC4-R Stimulation Reduces Food and Ethanol Intake in Adult Rats Regardless of Binge-Like Ethanol Exposure during Adolescence
Published in
Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, September 2017
DOI 10.3389/fnbeh.2017.00167
Pubmed ID
Authors

Francisca Carvajal, José M. Lerma-Cabrera, Manuel Alcaraz-Iborra, Montserrat Navarro, Todd E. Thiele, Inmaculada Cubero

Abstract

The melanocortin (MC) system regulates feeding and ethanol consumption. Recent evidence shows that melanocortin 4 receptor (MC4-R) stimulation within the nucleus accumbens (NAc) elicits anorectic responses and reduces ethanol consumption and ethanol palatability in adult rats. Ethanol exposure during adolescence causes long-lasting changes in neural pathways critically involved in neurobehavioral responses to ethanol. In this regard, binge-like ethanol exposure during adolescence reduces basal alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH) and alters the levels of agouti-related peptide (AgRP) in hypothalamic and limbic areas. Given the protective role of MC against excessive ethanol consumption, disturbances in the MC system induced by binge-like ethanol exposure during adolescence might contribute to excessive ethanol consumption during adulthood. In the present study, we evaluated whether binge-like ethanol exposure during adolescence leads to elevated ethanol intake and/or eating disturbance during adulthood. Toward that aim, Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with ethanol (3 g/kg i.p.; BEP group) or saline (SP group) for 14 days (PND 25 to PND 38). On PND73, all the groups were given access to 20% ethanol on an intermittent schedule. Our results showed that adult rats given intermittent access (IAE) to 20% ethanol achieved high spontaneous ethanol intake that was not significantly enhanced by binge-like ethanol pretreatment during adolescence. However, BEP group exhibited an increase in food intake without a parallel increase in body weight (BW) relative to SP group suggesting caloric efficiency disturbance. Additionally, we evaluated whether binge-like ethanol exposure during adolescence alters the expected reduction in feeding and ethanol consumption following NAc shell administration of a selective MC4-R agonist in adult rats showing high rates of ethanol consumption. For that, animals in each pretreatment condition (SP and BEP) were divided into three subgroups and given bilateral NAc infusions of the selective MC4-R agonist cyclo(NH-CH2-CH2-CO-His-D-Phe-Arg-Trp-Glu)-NH2 (0, 0.75 or 1.5 μg). Results revealed that MC4-R stimulation within the NAc reduced feeding and ethanol intake in high ethanol-drinking adult rats, regardless of previous binge-like ethanol exposure during adolescence, which adds new evidence regarding the dual ability of MC compounds to control excessive ethanol and food intake.

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Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 21 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
Unknown 21 100%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Ph. D. Student 4 19%
Student > Bachelor 3 14%
Student > Master 2 10%
Professor > Associate Professor 2 10%
Professor 1 5%
Other 3 14%
Unknown 6 29%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Neuroscience 4 19%
Medicine and Dentistry 3 14%
Psychology 2 10%
Immunology and Microbiology 1 5%
Social Sciences 1 5%
Other 3 14%
Unknown 7 33%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 3. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 27 September 2017.
All research outputs
#12,858,916
of 23,001,641 outputs
Outputs from Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience
#1,359
of 3,199 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#145,434
of 315,659 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience
#34
of 64 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 23,001,641 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 43rd percentile – i.e., 43% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 3,199 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 11.3. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 56% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 315,659 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 53% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 64 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one is in the 45th percentile – i.e., 45% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.