Individual differences in dopamine cell neuroadaptations following cocaine self-administration.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Addictive drugs produce neuroadaptations in dopamine neurons of the ventral tegmental area. It is unknown if individual differences in these neuroadaptive responses can account for naturally occurring differences in drug addiction liability.

Methods

To study this question, we took advantage of high-responder (HR) and low-responder (LR) rats, a population that exhibits spontaneous differences in several models of addiction. High-responder and LR rats were allowed to self-administer saline or a high dose of cocaine (500 microg/kg/infusion) over a brief period, to normalize drug intake across individuals. Drug-induced changes in the baseline activity of ventral tegmental area dopamine neurons were recorded after various periods of withdrawal.

Results

All rats

SUBMITTER: McCutcheon JE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2767203 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature