Prefrontal cortex parvalbumin interneurons exhibit decreased excitability and potentiated synaptic strength after ethanol reward learning.

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is intimately associated with behavioral characteristics of alcohol use disorders, including high motivation to drink and difficulty with moderation. Thus, continued mechanistic research investigating PFC cells and targets altered by ethanol experiences should inform translational efforts to craft new, efficacious treatments. Inhibitory interneurons expressing parvalbumin (PV-INs) comprise only a minor fraction of cells within the PFC, yet these cells are indispensable for coordinating PFC ensemble function, oscillatory activity, and subcortical output. Based on this, PV-INs represent an exciting target for the rational design of breakthrough treatments for alcohol use disorders. Here, we assessed experience-dependent physiological adaptations via ethanol place conditioning. By manipulating the timing of administration relative to conditioning sessions, equivalent ethanol exposure can form either rewarding or aversive memories in different individuals. Here, we found that female mice and male mice on a C57BL/6J background display conditioned place preference (CPP) or aversion (CPA) to an intoxicating dose of ethanol (2 g/kg, intraperitoneal [i.p.]) without overt differences between sexes. Ethanol reward learning was associated with decreased PV-IN excitability in deep layer prelimbic PFC, whereas PV-INs from CPA mice were not different from controls. Furthermore, PV-INs from mice in the CPP group, but not the CPA group, displayed potentiated excitatory synaptic strength that emerged during 1 week of abstinence. Taken together, these findings illustrate that synaptic and intrinsic adaptations associated with ethanol can depend on an individual's experience. These studies provide further context and support for PFC PV-INs as intriguing targets for modulating alcohol associations.