Withdrawal from repeated morphine administration augments expression of the RhoA network in the nucleus accumbens to control synaptic structure.

ABSTRACT: The nucleus accumbens (NAc) is a critical brain reward region that mediates the rewarding effects of drugs of abuse, including those of morphine and other opiates. Drugs of abuse induce widespread alterations in gene transcription and dendritic spine morphology in medium spiny neurons (MSNs) of the NAc that ultimately influence NAc excitability and hence reward-related behavioral responses. Growing evidence indicates that within the NAc small GTPases are common intracellular targets of drugs of abuse where these molecules regulate drug-mediated transcriptional and spine morphogenic effects. The RhoA small GTPase is among the most well-characterized members of the Ras superfamily of small GTPases, and recent work highlights an important role for hippocampal RhoA in morphine-facilitated rewa

SUBMITTER: Cahill ME 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6181756 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature