Ethanol, Glutamate, and the Ventral Tegmental AreauA Commentary on: Ding, Engleman, Rodd, and McBride, "Ethanol Increases Glutamate Neurotransmission in the Posterior Ventral Tegmental Area of Female Wistar Rats"

The recent study by Ding and colleagues (2012) utilized in vivo microdialysis to demonstrate that acute and repeated alcohol administration produces dose-dependent effects on extracellular levels of the glutamate in the posterior ventral tegmental area. These findings have important implications for interactions between glutamatergic and dopaminergic mediation of alcohol reinforcement in the ventral midbrain.