Cocaine, as other indirect sympathomimetics, has reinforcing properties in animals and man. Cocaine is intravenously self- administered by rats, and this model has been used to explore the neural substrates for cocaine reward. Previous work has shown that the forebrain projections of the mesocorticolimbic dopamine (DA) system are critical for cocaine self-administration. Rats will self-administer cocaine directly into the region of the frontal cortex and large 6-hydroxydopamine lesions of the region of the nucleus accumbens and frontal cortex will disrupt intravenous cocaine self-administration. The purpose of this proposal is to characterize further the neural substrates of cocaine reward by examining which DA subsystems are critical for maintaining the reinforcing value of cocaine, by examining the nature of the efferent projections important for processing this reinforcing stimulus, and by comparing the substrates necessary for cocaine reward to those necessary for methamphetamine reward. Rats will be trained to intravenously self-administer cocaine or methamphetamine and treatment effects will be evaluated using a progressive ratio and a discrete trials choice procedure. Studies will involve examining the effects of multiple discrete 6- hydroxydopamine lesions of the terminal projections of the mesocorticolimbic DA systems on intravenous cocaine self- administration. Behavioral measures will be correlated with discrete regional biochemical measures of catecholamine depletion using the regional punch technique. Lesions of the efferent projections of the neurons receiving the terminals of the mesocorticolimbic DA system with the cell body specific neurotoxin, ibotenic acid, will be used to characterize the efferent pathways important for processing the reinforcing stimulus. Those treatments shown to disrupt cocaine self- administration will be tested in rats self-administering methamphetamine. The proposed studies should provide important information for our understanding of the neural substrates for psychomotor stimulant reward but also important basic information about the organization of the neural substrates of reward in general.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
1R01DA004398-01
Application #
3209979
Study Section
Pharmacology I Research Subcommittee (DABR)
Project Start
1987-04-01
Project End
1995-03-31
Budget Start
1987-04-01
Budget End
1988-03-31
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
1987
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Scripps Research Institute
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
San Diego
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
92037
Du, Congwu; Volkow, Nora D; You, Jiang et al. (2018) Cocaine-induced ischemia in prefrontal cortex is associated with escalation of cocaine intake in rodents. Mol Psychiatry :
Schmeichel, Brooke E; Matzeu, Alessandra; Koebel, Pascale et al. (2018) Knockdown of hypocretin attenuates extended access of cocaine self-administration in rats. Neuropsychopharmacology 43:2373-2382
George, Olivier; Hope, Bruce T (2017) Cortical and amygdalar neuronal ensembles in alcohol seeking, drinking and withdrawal. Neuropharmacology 122:107-114
Schmeichel, Brooke E; Herman, Melissa A; Roberto, Marisa et al. (2017) Hypocretin Neurotransmission Within the Central Amygdala Mediates Escalated Cocaine Self-administration and Stress-Induced Reinstatement in Rats. Biol Psychiatry 81:606-615
You, In-Jee; Wright, Sherie R; Garcia-Garcia, Alvaro L et al. (2016) 5-HT1A Autoreceptors in the Dorsal Raphe Nucleus Convey Vulnerability to Compulsive Cocaine Seeking. Neuropsychopharmacology 41:1210-22
Cui, Changhai; Noronha, Antonio; Warren, Kenneth R et al. (2015) Brain pathways to recovery from alcohol dependence. Alcohol 49:435-52
Schmeichel, Brooke E; Barbier, Estelle; Misra, Kaushik K et al. (2015) Hypocretin receptor 2 antagonism dose-dependently reduces escalated heroin self-administration in rats. Neuropsychopharmacology 40:1123-9
Cohen, Ami; Soleiman, Matthew T; Talia, Reneta et al. (2015) Extended access nicotine self-administration with periodic deprivation increases immature neurons in the hippocampus. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 232:453-63
Repunte-Canonigo, Vez; Lefebvre, Celine; George, Olivier et al. (2014) Gene expression changes consistent with neuroAIDS and impaired working memory in HIV-1 transgenic rats. Mol Neurodegener 9:26
Deschaux, Olivier; Vendruscolo, Leandro F; Schlosburg, Joel E et al. (2014) Hippocampal neurogenesis protects against cocaine-primed relapse. Addict Biol 19:562-74

Showing the most recent 10 out of 141 publications