Alterations of the Corticotropin Releasing Hormone Receptor System Following Early Life Stress and Ethanol Self-Administration in Rhesus Monkeys

Abstract

Early life stress (ELS) alters brain and neuroendocrine development leading to a higher risk of alcohol abuse. Corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), a primary mediator of the stress response in the brain, plays a regulatory role in ethanol (EtOH) consumption. The goal of this thesis was to identify how ELS and EtOH drinking affected hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function and CRH receptor binding. We used an accepted ELS model of maternal separation with nursery-reared (NR) and mother-reared rhesus monkeys induced to self-administer EtOH or control solution for over 12 months. Subjects underwent endocrine challenges to probe the HPA axis before and after drinking. Brains were processed for in vitro receptor autoradiography using [125I] Sauvagine and appropriate blockers to measure CRH receptor binding.