Stress and Cocaine Trigger Divergent and Cell Type-Specific Regulation of Synaptic Transmission at Single Spines in Nucleus Accumbens.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Repeated exposure to cocaine or social stress leads to lasting structural and functional synaptic alterations in medium spiny neurons (MSNs) of nucleus accumbens (NAc). Although cocaine-induced and stress-induced structural changes in dendritic spines have been well documented, few studies have investigated functional consequences of cocaine and stress at the level of single spines.

Methods

We exposed mice to chronic cocaine or chronic social defeat stress and used two-photon laser scanning microscopy with glutamate photo-uncaging and whole-cell recording to examine synaptic strength at individual spines on two distinct types of NAc MSNs in acute slices after 24 hours of cocaine withdrawal and after chronic social defeat stress.

Results

In animals treated w

SUBMITTER: Khibnik LA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4670821 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature