Inhibition of alpha7 nicotinic receptors in the ventral hippocampus selectively attenuates reinstatement of morphine-conditioned place preference and associated changes in AMPA receptor binding.

ABSTRACT: Recurrent relapse is a major problem in treating opiate addiction. Pavlovian conditioning plays a role in recurrent relapse whereby exposure to cues learned during drug intake can precipitate relapse to drug taking. α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) have been implicated in attentional aspects of cognition and mechanisms of learning and memory. In this study we have investigated the role of α7 nAChRs in morphine-conditioned place preference (morphine-CPP). CPP provides a model of associative learning that is pertinent to associative aspects of drug dependence. The α7 nAChR antagonist methyllycaconitine (MLA; 4 mg/kg s.c.) had no effect on the acquisition, maintenance, reconsolidation or extinction of morphine-CPP but selectively attenuated morphine-primed reinstatement of CPP, i

SUBMITTER: Wright VL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6563460 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature