The primary long-range objective is to elucidate and characterize the actions of drugs of abuse as they influence and modify neuronal function. One of the crucial damaging aspects of drug addiction is the persistent wanting, or craving, that remains following rehabilitation. This contributes to relapse and a high failure rate in attempts to treat addiction. Because craving persists long after the cessation of withdrawal and recovery from tolerance, it is often suggested that a drug-induced neural plasticity has occurred within the circuitry of the brain. These changes maintain the potential for future triggering of drug craving. Although the neural underpinnings of the """"""""craving circuitry"""""""" of the brain are beginning to be unraveled, much remains to be determined. The hippocampus is a region of the brain involved with memory formation and is crucial for the performance of several associative learning and memory tasks. The administration of addictive substances directly into the hippocampus has been shown to support self administration behavior, and the activation of this brain region can prime, or reinstate, drug seeking behavior in animal models of addiction. Investigating the actions of drugs of abuse in the hippocampus is therefore merited. Electrophysiological recording techniques will be used to monitor neuronal responses from the in vitro hippocampal slice preparation. The acute and persisting effects of cocaine on the induction of various forms of synaptic plasticity and neurotransmission will be assessed. The central hypothesis is that the neural adaptations resulting from exposure to drugs of abuse likely include modifications of the normal synaptic plasticity mechanisms typically utilized to store information within neuronal networks.

Public Health Relevance

of this research is for providing guiding information and principles concerning the understanding of both the normal processes and the drug-induced changes involved in the long-term consequences of drug exposure in the neural circuitry of the brain. In this application, a novel mechanism for cocaine actions underlying the plasticity of synaptic plasticity (i.e. metaplasticity) in the hippocampal formation will be investigated, and the subsequent effects of exposure to cocaine on such processes will be assessed. Determining how metaplasticity may contribute to the persistence of craving/relapse will point the way toward relevant clinical approaches to the treatment of addiction.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
2R01DA016302-06A1
Application #
7654275
Study Section
Neurobiology of Motivated Behavior Study Section (NMB)
Program Officer
Sorensen, Roger
Project Start
2003-04-01
Project End
2011-07-31
Budget Start
2009-08-01
Budget End
2010-07-31
Support Year
6
Fiscal Year
2009
Total Cost
$185,625
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Georgia
Department
Physiology
Type
Schools of Veterinary Medicine
DUNS #
004315578
City
Athens
State
GA
Country
United States
Zip Code
30602
Keralapurath, Madhusudhanan M; Briggs, Sherri B; Wagner, John J (2017) Cocaine self-administration induces changes in synaptic transmission and plasticity in ventral hippocampus. Addict Biol 22:446-456
Scholpa, Natalie E; Briggs, Sherri B; Wagner, John J et al. (2016) Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor 1a (p21) Modulates Response to Cocaine and Motivated Behaviors. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 357:56-65
Cummings, Brian S; Pati, Sumitra; Sahin, Serap et al. (2015) Differential effects of cocaine exposure on the abundance of phospholipid species in rat brain and blood. Drug Alcohol Depend 152:147-56
Keralapurath, Madhusudhanan M; Clark, Jason K; Hammond, Sherri et al. (2014) Cocaine- or stress-induced metaplasticity of LTP in the dorsal and ventral hippocampus. Hippocampus 24:577-90
Hammond, Sherri; Seymour, Claire M; Burger, Ashley et al. (2013) D-Serine facilitates the effectiveness of extinction to reduce drug-primed reinstatement of cocaine-induced conditioned place preference. Neuropharmacology 64:464-71
Hammond, Sherri; Wagner, John J (2013) The context dependency of extinction negates the effectiveness of cognitive enhancement to reduce cocaine-primed reinstatement. Behav Brain Res 252:444-9
Ha, Sangdeuk; Furukawa, Ruth; Stramiello, Michael et al. (2011) Transgenic mouse model for the formation of Hirano bodies. BMC Neurosci 12:97
Stramiello, Michael; Wagner, John J (2010) Cocaine enhancement of long-term potentiation in the CA1 region of rat hippocampus: lamina-specific mechanisms of action. Synapse 64:644-8
Kelamangalath, L; Wagner, J J (2010) D-serine treatment reduces cocaine-primed reinstatement in rats following extended access to cocaine self-administration. Neuroscience 169:1127-35
Kelamangalath, Lakshmi; Seymour, Claire M; Wagner, John J (2009) D-serine facilitates the effects of extinction to reduce cocaine-primed reinstatement of drug-seeking behavior. Neurobiol Learn Mem 92:544-51

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