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 a carrageenan inflammatory paw pain challenge.
After assessing the effects of adolescent alcohol exposure in conjuction
with the pain challenge on mechanical and thermal sensitivity, slice
electrophysiology recordings were obtained from neurons in the prelimbic
cortex. Parameters of interest for these recordings included
excitatory/inhibitory balance, AMPA/NMDA ratio, and aEPSCs at BLA inputs
onto PrL parvalbumin interneurons and periaqueductal gray projecting
pyramidal neurons. Measures of intrinsic excitability were also obtained.