Chronic Ethanol Exposure Produces Persistent Impairment in Cognitive Flexibility and Decision Signals in the Striatum.
bioRxiv
; 2024 Mar 29.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38585868
ABSTRACT
Lack of cognitive flexibility is a hallmark of substance use disorders and has been associated with drug-induced synaptic plasticity in the dorsomedial striatum (DMS). Yet the possible impact of altered plasticity on real-time striatal neural dynamics during decision-making is unclear. Here, we identified persistent impairments induced by chronic ethanol (EtOH) exposure on cognitive flexibility and striatal decision signals. After a substantial withdrawal period from prior EtOH vapor exposure, male, but not female, rats exhibited reduced adaptability and exploratory behavior during a dynamic decision-making task. Reinforcement learning models showed that prior EtOH exposure enhanced learning from rewards over omissions. Notably, neural signals in the DMS related to the decision outcome were enhanced, while those related to choice and choice-outcome conjunction were reduced, in EtOH-treated rats compared to the controls. These findings highlight the profound impact of chronic EtOH exposure on adaptive decision-making, pinpointing specific changes in striatal representations of actions and outcomes as underlying mechanisms for cognitive deficits.
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1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Idioma:
En
Revista:
BioRxiv
Año:
2024
Tipo del documento:
Article
Pais de publicación:
Estados Unidos