Abstract
Advances in understanding the neurobiology of addiction indicate that not only dopaminergic neurotransmissions but also glutamatergic neurotransmissions within the mesolimbic system play important roles. While the role for the nucleus accumbens (NAc) shell and core in addiction has been extensively studied, the function of the dorsal striatum is not clear. Here, we demonstrate that repeated cocaine injections cause increases in surface-expressed AMPA receptors in the dorsal striatum. The increased AMPAR expression is more robust in juvenile mice than in young adult mice. Furthermore, expression of the G1CT peptide, which prevents the delivery of AMPARs to the surface, attenuates the locomotor sensitization in juvenile mice. Our results strongly suggest that glutamatergic synaptic plasticity in the dorsal striatum may have an important role in behavioral sensitization to cocaine and that there may be different age-dependent control mechanisms.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 65-69 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Biochemical and biophysical research communications |
Volume | 379 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2009 Jan 30 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This work was supported by a Korea Science and Engineering Foundation (KOSEF) Grant, funded by the Korean Government (MEST) (R01-2007-000-11034-0), and a Korea Research Foundation Grant, funded by the Korean Government (MOEHRD) (KRF-2007- 331-E00021).
Copyright:
Copyright 2009 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
Keywords
- AMPA receptor
- Dorsal striatum
- Drug addiction
- Synaptic plasticity
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biophysics
- Biochemistry
- Molecular Biology
- Cell Biology