UC San Diego

Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) can induce long lasting alterations to executive function. This includes altered action control, which can manifest as dysfunctional goal-directed control. Cortical and striatal circuits mediate goal-directed control over behavior, and prior research has found chronic alcohol disrupts these circuits. In particular, prior in vivo and ex vivo work have identified alterations to function and activity of dorsal medial striatum (DMS), which is necessary for goal-directed control. However, unknown is whether these alterations manifest as altered activity of select DMS populations during behavior. Here we examine effects of prior chronic alcohol exposure on calcium activity modulation during action-related behaviors via fiber photometry of genetically-identified DMS populations including the direct and indirect output pathways, and fast-spiking interneurons. We find that prior chronic alcohol exposure leads to increased calcium modulation of the direct pathway during action related behavior. In contrast, prior chronic alcohol exposure led to decreased calcium activity modulation of the indirect pathway and the fast-spiking interneuron population around action-related events. Together, our findings suggest an imbalance in striatal activity during action control. This disruption may contribute to the altered goal-directed control previously reported.