Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Commons^™

The Effect Of Nicotine Co-Administration On Alcohol-Induced Reactive Hippocampal Cell Proliferation During Abstinence In An Adolescent Model Of An Alcohol Use Disorder, Megan Heath

Theses and Dissertations--Pharmacy

A significant consequence of alcohol use disorders (AUDs) is hippocampal neurodegeneration. The hippocampus is responsible for learning and memory, and neurodegeneration in this brain region has been shown to result in cognitive deficits. Interestingly, some alcoholics demonstrate improvements in hippocampus-dependent functions, potentially due the phenomenon termed adult neurogenesis. Adult neurogenesis, the process by which neural stem cells (NSCs) proliferate, differentiate into neurons, migrate into the granule cell layer, and survive, occurs in two brain regions; however, this study examines only neurogenesis occurring in the subgranular zone of the hippocampal dentate gyrus. Four-day binge ethanol exposure in an animal model causes …