Methylphenidate Conditioned Place Preference in Juvenile and Adolescent Male and Female Rats
Year: 2013
Type: article
Abstract: This investigation was an analysis of the effects of methylphenidate (MPH; trade name: Ritalin) on drug reward using the conditioned place preference (CPP) behavioral paradigm in a rodent model and underlying mechanisms of this effect. Animals were conditioned in adolescence from postnatal day (P)33-39) or P44-49 with saline, 1 or 5 mg/kg MPH. Rats administered 5 mg/kg but not 1 mg/kg MPH, resulted in a significant preference that was more robust in younger male adolescent rats. The 5 mg/kg dose of MPH also resulted in a significant decrease of the dopamine transporter in both the nucleus accumbens and striatum, revealing dopamine clearance is decreased by MPH in brain areas that mediate reward. Finally, MPH-induced CPP was blocked by the dopamine D1 but not D2 antagonist, demonstrating the importance of the D1 receptor in the rewarding effects of MPH. These results demonstrate that dopamine mediates the rewarding effects of MPH in adolescence.
Author: Elizabeth D Freeman
Institution: East Tennessee State University
Language: English
Subfield: Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W113905471