Repeated chemogenetic activation of dopaminergic neurons induces reversible changes in baseline and amphetamine-induced behaviors.

ABSTRACT:

Rationale

Repeated chemogenetic stimulation is often employed to study circuit function and behavior. Chronic or repeated agonist administration can result in homeostatic changes, but this has not been extensively studied with designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs (DREADDs).

Objectives

We sought to evaluate the impact of repeated DREADD activation of dopaminergic (DA) neurons on basal behavior, amphetamine response, and spike firing. We hypothesized that repeated DREADD activation would mimic compensatory effects that we observed with genetic manipulations of DA neurons.

Methods

Excitatory hM3D(Gq) DREADDs were virally expressed in adult TH-Cre and WT mice. In a longitudinal design, clozapine N-oxide (CNO, 1.0 mg/kg) was administered repeatedly. W

SUBMITTER: Chohan MO 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10872888 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature