Characterization of neuronal ensembles in a model of dual reward conditioned place preference.

ABSTRACT: Substance use disorder (SUD) is associated with maladaptive alterations in behavior. Drug-seeking behavior has been associated with neuronal ensembles, defined here as a small group of neurons exhibiting coordinated activity patterns, in the prelimbic prefrontal cortex (PL) and nucleus accumbens core (NAcore). Most SUD preclinical research focuses on the effects of single-reward exposure on the general population of neurons within the reward pathway, rather than on poly-reward exposure. Here, we seek to characterize and compare the ensembles linked to cocaine and chocolate using a within-subject approach. We used Ai14xFos^2A-iCreER (c-Fos-TRAP2) transgenic mice to tag neuronal ensembles in a novel dual cocaine and chocolate conditioned place preference (CPP) model, where each cha

SUBMITTER: Flom LT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12259102 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature