Fig. 1
Alcohol withdrawal activated CRF neurons in the CeA. a Exposure to chronic intermittent alcohol vapor increased responding for alcohol 2.5-fold compared with the level of baseline responding before vapor exposure (t8 = 4.38, **p < 0.01, escalation [ESC] vs. baseline [BSL], paired t-test). b Withdrawal from alcohol vapor significantly increased the number of Fos+ neurons in the CeA (t8 = 5.12, **p < 0.001, unpaired t-test). c Double Fos-CRF immunohistochemistry showed that the total number of CRF neurons did not significantly change between alcohol-withdrawn and naive rats (t8 = 1.14, p > 0.05, unpaired t-test), but d the number of Fos+/CRF+ neurons in the CeA significantly increased during withdrawal (t8 = 5.45, p < 0.001, unpaired t-test) and represented the majority of Fos+ neurons (80%). e, f Representative images of double Fos (red)-CRF (green) immunohistochemistry in the CeA in alcohol-naive (e) and alcohol-withdrawn (f) rats. Yellow arrows indicate Fos-/CRF+ cells. White arrows indicate Fos+/CRF+ cells. Orange arrows indicate Fos+/CRF− cells. The data are expressed as mean ± SEM. Scale bars = 50 μm
