Binge cocaine administration in adolescent rats affects amygdalar gene expression patterns and alters anxiety-related behavior in adulthood.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Administration of cocaine during adolescence alters neurotransmission and behavioral sensitization in adulthood, but the effect on the acquisition of fear memories and the development of emotion-based neuronal circuits is unknown.

Methods

We examined fear learning and anxiety-related behaviors in adult male rats that were subjected to binge cocaine treatment during adolescence. We furthermore conducted gene expression analyses of the amygdala 22 hours after the last cocaine injection to identify molecular patterns that might lead to altered emotional processing.

Results

Rats injected with cocaine during adolescence displayed less anxiety in adulthood than their vehicle-injected counterparts. In addition, cocaine-exposed animals were deficient in their abili

SUBMITTER: Daws SE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3159046 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature