Upregulation of Arc mRNA expression in the prefrontal cortex following cue-induced reinstatement of extinguished cocaine-seeking behavior.

ABSTRACT: Cocaine-associated cues acquire incentive motivational effects that manifest as cue-elicited craving in humans and cocaine-seeking behavior in rats. Here we examine the hypothesis that neuronal processes associated with incentive motivational effects of cocaine cues involve increased expression of the plasticity-associated gene, Arc. Rats trained to self-administer cocaine subsequently underwent extinction training, during which cocaine-seeking behavior (i.e., responses without cocaine reinforcement) progressively decreased. Rats were then tested for cocaine-seeking behavior either with or without response-contingent presentations of light/tone cues that had been previously paired with cocaine infusions during self-administration training. Cues elicited reinstatement of cocaine-seeking beh

SUBMITTER: Zavala AR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2832122 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature