Enhancement of Drug Seeking Following Drug Taking in a Sexual Context Requires Anterior Cingulate Cortex Activity in Male Rats.

ABSTRACT: Individual variance in vulnerability to develop addictions is influenced by social factors. Specifically, drug-taking in a sexual context appears to enhance further drug-seeking behavior in human users, as these users identify the effects of drugs to enhance sexual pleasure as a primary reason for continued drug use. Methamphetamine (Meth) is commonly used in this context. Similarly, male rats that self-administered Meth immediately followed by sexual behavior display enhanced drug-seeking behavior, including attenuation of extinction and increased reinstatement to seeking of Meth-associated cues. Hence, drug-taking in a sexual context enhances vulnerability for addiction. However, the neural mechanisms by which this occurs are unknown. Here the hypothesis was tested that medial prefrontal

SUBMITTER: Kuiper LB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7330085 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature