Chemogenetic inhibition reveals midline thalamic nuclei and thalamo-accumbens projections mediate cocaine-seeking in rats.

ABSTRACT: Drug addiction is a chronic disease that is shaped by alterations in neuronal function within the cortical-basal ganglia-thalamic circuit. However, our understanding of how this circuit regulates drug-seeking remains incomplete, and relapse rates remain high. The midline thalamic nuclei are an integral component of the cortical-basal ganglia-thalamic circuit and are poised to mediate addiction behaviors, including relapse. It is surprising that little research has examined the contribution of midline thalamic nuclei and their efferent projections in relapse. To address this, we expressed inhibitory, G_i/o -coupled DREADDs (Designer Receptors Exclusively Activated by Designer Drugs) in a subset of the midline thalamic nuclei or in midline thalamic nuclei neurons projecting to eith

SUBMITTER: Wunsch AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5546988 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature