Neuronal Substrates of Socially-Induced Alcohol Drinking Underlying Vulnerability to Addiction [...]

Organisation/Company NeuroSchool, Aix-Marseille Université Research Field Psychological sciences » Psychology Biological sciences » Biology Medical sciences Researcher Profile Recognised Researcher (R2) Leading Researcher (R4) First Stage Researcher (R1) Established Researcher (R3) Application Deadline 26 Apr 2026 - 22:00 (UTC) Country France Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Offer Starting Date 1 Oct 2026 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

The NeuroSchool PhD Program of Aix-Marseille University (France) has launched its annual calls for PhD contracts for students with a master's degree in a non-French university.

This project is one of the proposed projects. Not all proposed projects will be funded, check our website for details.

State of the art : Only a subset of alcohol users develops compulsive use, yet the social contribution to this vulnerability remains unexplored. Alcohol consumption is most often initiated in social contexts, but rodent models of alcohol use disorders (AUD) are typically conducted in controlled tasks with isolated animals, thus limiting investigation on the social influences on addiction vulnerability.

Objectives : (1) Determine how social interactions influence voluntary alcohol intake and vulnerability to AUD, and how chronic ethanol consumption reorganizes social dynamics in groups of males or female rats. (2) Characterize intrinsic and synaptic electrophysiological properties of PFC‑Nacc and PFC‑STN projecting neurons in socially ethanol‑exposed rats. (3) Manipulate the activity of these projections using chemogenetic approaches (DREADDs) to modulate social behaviors to promote or prevent ethanol intake and AUD vulnerability.

Methods : The ‘Live Rat Tracking’ (LRT) system will monitor naturalistic social behaviors in groups of rats for several days, during which they will have an intermittent access to ethanol to assess voluntary drinking and AUD. Ex vivo recordings (excitability, synaptic transmission…) will be performed after the ethanol ± LRT protocols in rats previously injected with two distinct Alexaconjugated Cholera Toxin B retrograde tracers in the NAcc and STN to identify of mPFC‑Nacc and -STN projecting neurons. PFC pathways will be modulated using a DREADD Cav2‑Cre viral strategy, with the DREADD agonist added in the LRT tap water to allow sustained activation/inhibition of the pathways.

Expected results : Preliminary results showed that alcohol voluntary intake is higher in female than male rats, and that alcohol consumption alters established social dynamics. We expect to identify social patterns predictive of alcohol intake and AUD vulnerability, associated with alterations in PFC pathways in vulnerable versus resilient animals. DREADD modulation of PFC projections is expected to affect social influences that facilitate drinking or strengthen protective social dynamics.

Feasibility : The team has all necessary equipment, expertise and ethical authorization (APAFIS #46528) to efficiently execute the project.

Complementarity of the two co‑supervisors : C. Beurrier and M. Degoulet (CoPhyBaG) will join their complementary skills and expertise in ex vivo electrophysiology and addiction‑like behavioral approaches in rats.

• Strong interest in social and addiction-like behaviors
• Experience with rodent handling and behavioral paradigms
• Coding skills
• Knowledge of electrophysiology, histology, or viral tracing