Cocaine Experience Enhances Thalamo-Accumbens N-Methyl-D-Aspartate Receptor Function.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Excitatory synaptic transmission in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) is a key biological substrate underlying behavioral responses to psychostimulants and susceptibility to relapse. Studies have demonstrated that cocaine induces changes in glutamatergic signaling at distinct inputs to the NAc. However, consequences of cocaine experience on synaptic transmission from the midline nuclei of the thalamus (mThal) to the NAc have yet to be reported.

Methods

To examine synapses from specific NAc core inputs, we recorded light-evoked excitatory postsynaptic currents following viral-mediated expression of channelrhodopsin-2 in the mThal, prefrontal cortex (PFC), or basolateral amygdala from acute brain slices. To identify NAc medium spiny neuron subtypes, we used mice expressin

SUBMITTER: Joffe ME 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5050082 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature