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Publication

Chemogenetic Activation of an Extinction Neural Circuit Reduces Cue-Induced Reinstatement of Cocaine Seeking.

Isabel F Augur | Andrew R Wyckoff | Gary Aston-Jones | Peter W Kalivas | Jamie Peters

The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience | 2016

The ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) has been shown to negatively regulate cocaine-seeking behavior, but the precise conditions by which vmPFC activity can be exploited to reduce cocaine relapse are currently unknown. We used viral-mediated gene transfer of designer receptors (DREADDs) to activate vmPFC neurons and examine the consequences on cocaine seeking in a rat self-administration model of relapse. Activation of vmPFC neurons with the Gq-DREADD reduced reinstatement of cocaine seeking elicited by cocaine-associated cues, but not by cocaine itself. We used a retro-DREADD approach to confine the Gq-DREADD to vmPFC neurons that project to the medial nucleus accumbens shell, confirming that these neurons are responsible for the decreased cue-induced reinstatement of cocaine seeking. The effects of vmPFC activation on cue-induced reinstatement depended on prior extinction training, consistent with the reported role of this structure in extinction memory. These data help define the conditions under which chemogenetic activation of extinction neural circuits can be exploited to reduce relapse triggered by reminder cues.

Pubmed ID: 27683912 RIS Download

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Associated grants

Agency: NIDA NIH HHS, United States
Id: P50 DA015369
Agency: NIDA NIH HHS, United States
Id: R01 DA006214
Agency: NIDA NIH HHS, United States
Id: R01 DA003906
Agency: NIDA NIH HHS, United States
Id: K01 DA038235
Agency: NIDA NIH HHS, United States
Id: R01 DA012513

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