Effects of muscarinic M₁ receptor stimulation on reinforcing and neurochemical effects of cocaine in rats.

ABSTRACT: Cocaine addiction is a chronic illness characterized by maladaptive drug-induced neuroplastic changes that confer lasting vulnerability to relapse. Over several weeks we observed the effects of the M₁ receptor-selective agonist VU0364572 in adult male rats that self-administer cocaine in a cocaine vs. food choice procedure. The drug showed unusual long-lasting effects, as rats gradually stopped self-administering cocaine, reallocating behavior towards the food reinforcer. The effect lasted as long as tested and at least 4 weeks. To begin to elucidate how VU0364572 modulates cocaine self-administration, we then examined its long-term effects using dual-probe in vivo dopamine and glutamate microdialysis in nucleus accumbens and medial prefrontal cortex, and ex vivo striatal dopami

SUBMITTER: Weikop P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7547714 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature