Cell type-specific activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase in D1 receptor-expressing neurons of the nucleus accumbens potentiates stimulus-reward learning in mice.

ABSTRACT: Medium spiny neurons (MSN) in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) are a fundamental component of various aspects of motivated behavior. Although mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling plays a crucial role in several types of learning, the cell type-specific role of MAPK pathway in stimulus-reward learning and motivation remains unclear. We herein investigated the role of MAPK in accumbal MSNs in reward-associated learning and memory. During the acquisition of Pavlovian conditioning, the number of phosphorylated MAPK1/3-positive cells was increased significantly and exclusively in the NAc core by 7-days of extensive training. MAPK signaling in the respective D1R- and D2R-MSNs was manipulated by transfecting an adeno-associated virus (AAV) plasmid into the NAc of Drd1a-Cre and Drd2-Cre tr

SUBMITTER: Bin Saifullah MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6158283 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature