美国麻省理工学院Cody A. Siciliano和索尔克生物研究所Kay M. Tye课题组，合作揭示皮质-脑干回路预测并控制强迫性饮酒。相关论文发表在11月22日出版的国际学术期刊《科学》上。

研究人员从雄性小鼠过度饮酒的经历中纵向追踪了强迫性饮酒的发展过程。暴饮揭示了个体差异，尽管先后同等程度地饮酒，但仍显示出饮酒和强迫饮酒的潜在特征。

过度饮酒前投射到脑干皮质神经元的不同神经活动信号预示着最终强迫性饮酒的出现。模拟饮酒表型的特点足以双向调节饮酒。该研究结果解释了为什么某些个体更容易形成强迫性饮酒。

据悉，个体神经活动的差异是否预示着饮酒会从偶然性变为强迫性？人们对从中度饮酒过渡到强迫饮酒的神经生物学机制仍然知之甚少。

附：英文原文

Title: A cortical-brainstem circuit predicts and governs compulsive alcohol drinking

Author: Cody A. Siciliano, Habiba Noamany, Chia-Jung Chang, Alex R. Brown, Xinhong Chen, Daniel Leible, Jennifer J. Lee, Joyce Wang, Amanda N. Vernon, Caitlin M. Vander Weele, Eyal Y. Kimchi, Myriam Heiman, Kay M. Tye

Issue&Volume: 2019/11/22

Abstract: What individual differences in neural activity predict the future escalation of alcohol drinking from casual to compulsive The neurobiological mechanisms that gate the transition from moderate to compulsive drinking remain poorly understood. We longitudinally tracked the development of compulsive drinking across a binge-drinking experience in male mice. Binge drinking unmasked individual differences, revealing latent traits in alcohol consumption and compulsive drinking despite equal prior exposure to alcohol. Distinct neural activity signatures of cortical neurons projecting to the brainstem before binge drinking predicted the ultimate emergence of compulsivity. Mimicry of activity patterns that predicted drinking phenotypes was sufficient to bidirectionally modulate drinking. Our results provide a mechanistic explanation for individual variance in vulnerability to compulsive alcohol drinking.

DOI: 10.1126/science.aay1186

Source: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/366/6468/1008