ETHANOL TOLERANCE: IN VIVO SPECTROSCOPY AND DRINKING IN MONKEYS

Oregon Health & Science University, Portland OR

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Abstract

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. Primary support for the subproject and the subproject's principal investigator may have been provided by other sources, including other NIH sources. The Total Cost listed for the subproject likely represents the estimated amount of Center infrastructure utilized by the subproject, not direct funding provided by the NCRR grant to the subproject or subproject staff. The overall objective of the proposed studies is to establish ethanol magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) as a translational measure of tolerance. In a series of in vivo MRS experiments following intravenous ethanol administration, we have observed that the size of the ethanol MRS signal is a non-linear function of ethanol concentration. We have developed a framework to interpret this finding in terms of the concentration and affinity of a saturable ethanol binding site (or collection of binding sites) within the brain. Our data corroborate early spectroscopic results from human investigations, and provide an opportunity to extend these earlier findings by incorporating modern analysis strategies and a previously unrecognized biophysical model of ethanol binding interactions with macromolecular constituents. Within this context, we will provide the first direct comparison between ethanol MRS measures of tolerance, well-established behavioral measurements of acute tolerance, and the development of acquired tolerance. Each of these measurements is interpreted in terms of the propensity to self-administer excessive quantities of ethanol, which will also be directly measured in our non-human primate study. First, we are testing the hypothesis that a high degree of innate tolerance to the intoxicating effects of ethanol is detectable through an endophenotype of increased BEC-corrected ethanol MRS signal intensity. Second, we are testing the hypothesis that BEC-corrected ethanol MRS signal intensity increases as an individual transitions from an ethanol-na[unreadable]ve state to a state of excessive ethanol self-administration.