Cocaine experience controls bidirectional synaptic plasticity in the nucleus accumbens
- PMID:17652583
- PMCID: PMC6672735
- DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1859-07.2007
Cocaine experience controls bidirectional synaptic plasticity in the nucleus accumbens
Abstract
Plasticity of glutamatergic synapses is a fundamental mechanism through which experience changes neural function to impact future behavior. In animal models of addiction, glutamatergic signaling in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) exerts powerful control over drug-seeking behavior. However, little is known about whether, how or when experience with drugs may trigger synaptic plasticity in this key nucleus. Using whole-cell synaptic physiology in NAc brain slices, we demonstrate that a progression of bidirectional changes in glutamatergic synaptic strength occurs after repeated in vivo exposure to cocaine. During a protracted drug-free period, NAc neurons from cocaine-experienced mice develop a robust potentiation of AMPAR-mediated synaptic transmission. However, a single re-exposure to cocaine during extended withdrawal becomes a potent stimulus for synaptic depression, abruptly reversing the initial potentiation. These enduring modifications in AMPAR-mediated responses and plasticity may provide a neural substrate for disrupted processing of drug-related stimuli in drug-experienced individuals.
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Comment in
- Cocaine experience guides dynamic changes in AMPA receptors within the nucleus accumbens.Jones JL.Jones JL.J Neurosci. 2008 Mar 19;28(12):2967-9. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0161-08.2008.J Neurosci. 2008.PMID:18354000Free PMC article.No abstract available.
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