Sex-Specific Effects of Hypocretin Receptor Signaling in Corticotropin-Releasing Factor Neurons on Alcohol Drinking, Anxiety, and Extended Amygdala Neuronal Excitability

Biological psychiatry global open science
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Yihe Ma, Haniyyah Sardar, Max E Benabou, Angeline C Yu, Allison R Morningstar, R Nicolas Fajardo, Isaac F Kandil, Ethan T Rogers, Anne Vassalli, Julie A Kauer, William J Giardino
BACKGROUND: Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is characterized by compulsive alcohol consumption and negative emotional states during withdrawal, often perpetuating a cycle of addiction through arousal dysfunction. The hypocretin/orexin (HCRT) neuropeptide system is a key regulator of arousal that is implicated in these processes, particularly in its interactions with corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) neurons within the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST).