Abstract
A variety of neuropharmacological studies including lesions, microinjections and in vivo microdialysis experiment have already been applied to identify brain regions and neurochemical systems that are involved in mediating the reinforcing effects of alcohol. In the present study, we introduce a novel mathematical model to investigate the global effects of acute ethanol administration on the extracellular concentrations of
neurotransmitters in adult rats. The model describes the spatiotemporal interactions of different transmitter systems, particularly aminoacids, monoamines and acetylcholine within an anatomical neurocircuitry, in constant environment and provides ranges of alterations of the local transmitter concentrations due to the administration of different doses of ethanol. In general, the outcome of the present mathematical model is a global
mapping of temporal transmitter alterations respective to a stable baseline concentration. In addition to the ability of this in silico method to simulate in vivo microdialysis
measurements, it provides an efficient framework to study ethanol-induced transmitter alterations in brain regions that are outside the scope of conventional techniques.
