Involvement of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens and prefrontal cortex in cocaine-associative learning

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dc.contributor.advisorDuvauchelle, Christine L.en
dc.creatorIkegami, Aikoen
dc.date.accessioned2008-08-28T21:30:40Zen
dc.date.accessioned2017-05-11T22:15:50Z
dc.date.available2008-08-28T21:30:40Zen
dc.date.available2017-05-11T22:15:50Z
dc.date.issued2003en
dc.descriptiontexten
dc.description.abstractStimuli formerly associated with cocaine-taking behavior are known to elicit physiological changes and craving in cocaine-dependent individuals. This is a result of learned associations between an environmental stimulus and the effects of cocaine, and is believed to be a major factor that leads to relapse in recovering cocaine addicts. A precise neural mechanism underlying how cocaine-paired stimuli produce craving and drug-taking behavior is currently unknown. Synaptic plasticity is known as a neural basis for associative learning. A modulatory role of a neurotransmitter, dopamine (DA), in synaptic plasticity has been implicated. Moreover, recent studies indicate that DA is particularly important during acquisition of associative learning, but less important as learning progresses. Yet, this notion has not been fully investigated using cocaine as a reinforcer. The nucleus accumbens (NAcc) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) brain regions, are both largely implicated in drug addiction. Using an animal model of drug- taking behavior in conjunction with an in vivo microdialysis technique, the dissertation experiments determined the involvement of DA in during distinctive stages of cocaine associative learning. Results from the experiments showed that NAcc DA was responsive to cocaine-paired stimuli during early, but not the late stages of cocaine associative learning while responsiveness of mPFC DA to cocaine-paired stimuli was enhanced with extended conditioning experience. The results indicate that brain areas responsive to conditioned stimuli transfers as associative learning progresses. These findings suggest that a dynamic role of DA in distinctive brain regions should be taken into account during treatment and relapse prevention of cocaine addiction.
dc.description.departmentPharmacyen
dc.format.mediumelectronicen
dc.identifierb56832540en
dc.identifier.oclc56123284en
dc.identifier.proqst3119534en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2152/664en
dc.language.isoengen
dc.rightsCopyright is held by the author. Presentation of this material on the Libraries' web site by University Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin was made possible under a limited license grant from the author who has retained all copyrights in the works.en
dc.subject.lcshCocaine abuseen
dc.subject.lcshPaired-association learning--Physiological aspectsen
dc.subject.lcshDopamine--Physiological effecten
dc.titleInvolvement of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens and prefrontal cortex in cocaine-associative learningen
dc.type.genreThesisen

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