Work

The Rate of Cocaine Administration Alters Gene Regulation and Behavioral Plasticity: Implications for Addiction

Year: 2004

Type: article

Abstract: The rapid delivery of drugs of abuse to the brain is thought to promote addiction, but why this occurs is unknown. In the present study, we characterized the influence of rate of intravenous cocaine infusion (5-100 sec) on three effects thought to contribute to its addiction liability: its ability to block dopamine (DA) uptake, to activate immediate early gene expression, and to produce psychomotor sensitization. Rapid infusions potentiated the ability of cocaine to block DA reuptake, to induce c-fos and arc mRNA expression, especially in mesocorticolimbic regions, and to produce psychomotor sensitization. Thus, the rate at which cocaine is delivered influences both its neurobiological impact and its ability to induce a form of drug experience-dependent plasticity implicated in addiction. We propose that rapidly delivered cocaine may be more addictive, in part, because this more readily induces forms of neurobehavioral plasticity that lead to the compulsive pursuit of drugs.

Source: Journal of Neuroscience

DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1205-04.2004

Authors: Anne-Noël Samaha, Nicolas Mallet, Susan M. Ferguson, François Gonon, Terry E. Robinson

Institutions: University of Michigan, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université de Bordeaux, Université Bordeaux Segalen

Language: English

Topic: Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior

Subfield: Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: hybrid

Funder: National Institute on Drug Abuse