Although alcoholism and depression are highly comorbid, treatment options that take this into account are lacking, and mouse models of alcohol (ethanol (EtOH)) intake-induced depressive-like behavior have not been well established. Recent studies utilizing contingent EtOH administration through prolonged two-bottle choice access have demonstrated depression-like behavior following EtOH abstinence in singly housed female C57BL/6J mice. In the present study, we found that depression-like behavior in the forced swim test (FST) is revealed only after a protracted (2 weeks), but not acute (24 h), abstinence period. No effect on anxiety-like behavior in the EPM was observed. Further, we found that, once established, the affective disturbance is long-lasting, as we observed significantly enhanced latencies to approach food even 35 days after ethanol withdrawal in the novelty-suppressed feeding test (NSFT). We were able to reverse affective disturbances measured in the NSFT following EtOH abstinence utilizing the N-methyl D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonist and antidepressant ketamine but not memantine, another NMDAR antagonist. Pretreatment with the monoacylglycerol (MAG) lipase inhibitor JZL-184 also reduced affective disturbances in the NSFT in ethanol withdrawn mice, and this effect was prevented by co-administration of the CB1 inverse agonist rimonabant. Endocannabinoid levels were decreased within the BLA during abstinence compared with during drinking. Finally, we demonstrate that the depressive behaviors observed do not require a sucrose fade and that this drinking paradigm may favor the development of habit-like EtOH consumption. These data could set the stage for developing novel treatment approaches for alcohol-withdrawal-induced mood and anxiety disorders.

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The female lifespan is marked by periods of dramatic hormonal fluctuation. Changes in the ovarian hormones estradiol and progesterone, in addition to the progesterone metabolite allopregnanolone, are among the most significant and have been shown to have widespread effects on the brain. This review summarizes current understanding of alterations that occur within the GABA system during the major hormonal transition periods of puberty, the ovarian cycle, pregnancy and the postpartum period, as well as reproductive aging. The functional impacts of altered inhibitory activity during these times are also discussed. Lastly, avenues for future research are identified, which, if pursued, can broaden understanding of the GABA system in the female brain and potentially lead to better treatments for women experiencing changes in brain function at each of these hormonal transition periods.

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COVID-19 has renewed the importance of science diplomacy, with international cooperation and scientific collaboration across borders more critical than ever to combat the pandemic. To better disseminate rapidly developing innovations and scientific expertise, there is a need to reevaluate the relationship between modes of scientific communications and traditional diplomatic channels. Although science diplomacy is traditionally between national governments or international organizations such as the United Nations, individual connections between scientists from different countries is itself a form of science diplomacy. Scientific conferences are a key component of science diplomacy and more broadly bring scientists and their industrial, governmental, and philanthropic partners together from across the world to discuss major scientific advances and challenges. Through international scientific collaborations that will form during such conferences, the scientific community can broker new partnerships where formal political relationships are strained. Thus, it is essential that virtual scientific conferences are made accessible in order to facilitate effective science diplomacy. Here we explore the major obstacles of in-person conferences (high cost, locally-focused, and less equitable) which limit how global conversations can benefit from scientific knowledge, as well as opportunities offered by virtual meetings (affordability, global participation, equitable nature) to foster science diplomacy. Further, we provide recommendations that can enable future conferences, both fully or partially virtual, to strengthen science diplomacy post-COVID-19.