Adolescent alcohol exposure, pain, and synaptic function at BLA inputs onto prelimbic neurons

This dataset covers mechanical and thermal sensitivity in PV-Cre rats (RRID:RRRC_00773) beginning in adolescence and continuing into adulthood. The rats were tested weekly for eight weeks. After the first test, half the rats began adolescent intermittent ethanol vapor exposure, which continued for 4 weeks. Rats then underwent surgery to express channelrhodopsin in the BLA, and a viral cre-depedent mCherry tag in the prelimbic cortex. Retrobeads were injected in the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray. This allowed for slice electrophysiology recordings from prelimbic parvalbumin interneurons and prelimbic pyramidal neurons projecting to the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray. After recovering from the surgery, rats underwent an inflammatory pain challenge using carrageenan injected into the hindpaw. After assessing the effects of alcohol exposure in conjuction with the pain challenge on mechanical and thermal sensitivity slice electrophysiology recordings were made from neurons in the prelimbic cortex. Parameters of interest were intrinstic excitability and BLA-driven excitatory/inhibitory balance, AMPA/NMDA ratio, and aEPSCs at both parvalbumin interneurons and pyramidal neurons projecting from the prelimbic cortex to the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray.

本数据集收录了青春期起始直至成年的PV-Cre大鼠（PV-Cre rats，RRID:RRRC_00773）的机械与热痛觉敏感性相关实验数据。实验期间，该类大鼠每周接受一次测试，总计持续8周。首次测试结束后，半数大鼠开始接受青春期间歇性乙醇蒸气暴露，该暴露方案持续4周。随后，大鼠接受手术操作：在杏仁基底外侧核（basolateral amygdala, BLA）中表达光敏感通道蛋白（channelrhodopsin），并在前边缘皮层（prelimbic cortex）中标记依赖于病毒cre的mCherry标签；同时向腹外侧导水管周围灰质（ventrolateral periaqueductal gray）注射逆行微球（Retrobeads）。上述操作可实现对前边缘皮层小白蛋白中间神经元（parvalbumin interneurons）以及投射至腹外侧导水管周围灰质的前边缘皮层锥体神经元的脑片电生理记录。手术恢复后，大鼠接受炎性疼痛刺激：向爪垫注射角叉菜胶（carrageenan）以诱发炎性疼痛。在评估乙醇暴露联合疼痛刺激对机械与热痛觉敏感性的影响后，研究人员对前边缘皮层神经元开展了脑片电生理记录。本研究关注的实验参数包括：固有兴奋性、杏仁基底外侧核驱动的兴奋/抑制平衡、AMPA/NMDA受体比率，以及前边缘皮层小白蛋白中间神经元与从前边缘皮层投射至腹外侧导水管周围灰质的锥体神经元的微小兴奋性突触后电流（aEPSCs）。