Inhibiting Rho kinase promotes goal-directed decision making and blocks habitual responding for cocaine.

ABSTRACT: The prelimbic prefrontal cortex is necessary for associating actions with their consequences, enabling goal-directed decision making. We find that the strength of action-outcome conditioning correlates with dendritic spine density in prelimbic cortex, suggesting that new action-outcome learning involves dendritic spine plasticity. To test this, we inhibited the cytoskeletal regulatory factor Rho kinase. We find that the inhibitor fasudil enhances action-outcome memory, resulting in goal-directed behavior in mice that would otherwise express stimulus-response habits. Fasudil transiently reduces prelimbic cortical dendritic spine densities during a period of presumed memory consolidation, but only when paired with new learning. Fasudil also blocks habitual responding for cocaine, an effect t

SUBMITTER: Swanson AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5707361 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature