Δ JunD overexpression in the nucleus accumbens prevents sexual reward in female Syrian hamsters
Year: 2013
Type: article
Abstract: Motivated behaviors, including sexual experience, activate the mesolimbic dopamine system and produce long-lasting molecular and structural changes in the nucleus accumbens. The transcription factor ΔFosB is hypothesized to partly mediate this experience-dependent plasticity. Previous research in our laboratory has demonstrated that overexpressing ΔFosB in the nucleus accumbens of female Syrian hamsters augments the ability of sexual experience to cause the formation of a conditioned place preference. It is unknown, however, whether ΔFosB-mediated transcription in the nucleus accumbens is required for the behavioral consequences of sexual reward. We therefore used an adeno-associated virus to overexpress ΔJunD, a dominant negative binding partner of ΔFosB that decreases ΔFosB-mediated transcription by competitively heterodimerizing with ΔFosB before binding at promotor regions on target genes, in the nucleus accumbens. We found that overexpression of ΔJunD prevented the formation of a conditioned place preference following repeated sexual experiences. These data, when coupled with our previous findings, suggest that ΔFosB is both necessary and sufficient for behavioral plasticity following sexual experience. Furthermore, these results contribute to an important and growing body of literature demonstrating the necessity of endogenous ΔFosB expression in the nucleus accumbens for adaptive responding to naturally rewarding stimuli.
Source: Genes Brain & Behavior
DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12060
Language: English
Subfield: Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Awards: Dopamine Sensitization by Motivated Behaviors, Epigenetic Mechanisms of Depression, G4096329318, G4605201928, Molecular Studies of Cocaine Action in Brain, Pharmacological Actions of Stress and Antidepressants, Dopamine Sensitization by Motivated Behaviors, Molecular Neurobiology of Drug Addiction, G9000071106, University of Minnesota Summer Research in Neuroscience, Neuroscience Training in Drug Abuse Research
OpenAlex ID: W1908181404