Direct regulation of diurnal Drd3 expression and cocaine reward by NPAS2.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Circadian gene disruptions are associated with the development of psychiatric disorders, including addiction. However, the mechanisms by which circadian genes regulate reward remain poorly understood.

Methods

We used mice with a mutation in Npas2 and adeno-associated virus-short hairpin RNA mediated knockdown of Npas2 and Clock in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). We performed conditioned place preference assays. We utilized cell sorting quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, and chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by deep sequencing.

Results

Npas2 mutants exhibit decreased sensitivity to cocaine reward, which is recapitulated with a knockdown of neuronal PAS domain protein 2 (NPAS2) specifically in the NAc, demonstrating the importance of NPAS2 in

SUBMITTER: Ozburn AR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4315729 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature