First Advisor
Angela Ozburn
Date of Award
Summer 8-16-2022
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Biology and University Honors
Department
Biology
Language
English
Subjects
Circadian rhythms, Binge drinking -- Physiological aspects, Gene expression
DOI
10.15760/honors.1314
Abstract
Previous studies 1) support a role of circadian genes in regulating alcohol intake, and 2) reveal that harmful alcohol use alters circadian rhythms. However, there [is] minimal knowledge of the effects of chronic alcohol processes on rhythmic circadian gene expression across brain regions important for circadian biology and alcohol intake. Therefore, the present study sought to test the effects of chronic binge-like drinking on diurnal circadian gene rhythms in the master circadian pacemaker (SCN), the ventral tegmental area (VTA), and the nucleus accumbens (NAc) in High Drinking in the Dark-1 (HDID-1) mice, a unique genetic risk model for drinking to intoxication. Consistent with earlier findings, we found that 8-weeks of binge-like drinking reduced the amplitude of several core circadian clock genes in the NAc and SCN (but not VTA). To better inform the use of circadian-relevant pharmacotherapies in reducing harmful drinking and ameliorating alcohol’s effects on circadian gene expression, we tested whether the casein kinase-1 inhibitor, PF-670462, or the phosphodiesterase type-4 (an upstream regulator of circadian signalling) inhibitor, apremilast, would reduce binge-like intake and mitigate circadian gene suppression. PF-670462 did not reduce intake, but did have circadian gene effects. In contrast, apremilast reduced drinking, but had no effect on circadian expression patterns.
Rights
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Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/38495
Recommended Citation
Ledford, Courtney, "Targeting the Maladaptive Effects of Binge Drinking on Circadian Gene Expression" (2022). University Honors Theses. Paper 1283.
https://doi.org/10.15760/honors.1314