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Abstract
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) causes long-lasting changes in brain gene expression and RNA splicing, particularly in the ventral hippocampus. This study analyzes RNA-Seq data from rats exposed to chronic alcohol and withdrawal to identify transcript-level and splicing alterations. An optimized RNA-Seq pipeline using STAR, FeatureCounts, edgeR, and WGCNA improved efficiency by 25-40% while maintaining consistency across 25 datasets. Results reveal changes in neural signaling and stress-response pathways associated with withdrawal. This work provides both biological insight into AUD and a reproducible computational framework for transcriptomic analysis.
Publication Date
2026
Subject Major(s)
Bioinformatics
Keywords
AUD, Alcohol Use Disorder, RNA splicing, Pharmacology, Toxicology, neurogenomics, gene expression
Disciplines
Bioinformatics | Computational Biology | Genomics | Other Neuroscience and Neurobiology | Pharmacology | Toxicology
Current Academic Year
Senior
Faculty Advisor/Mentor
Amy Lasek
Faculty Advisor/Mentor
Luana Martins de Carvalho
Rights
© The Author(s)
Included in
Bioinformatics Commons, Computational Biology Commons, Genomics Commons, Other Neuroscience and Neurobiology Commons, Pharmacology Commons, Toxicology Commons