Work

A Focus on Reward Prediction and the Lateral Habenula: Functional Alterations and the Behavioral Outcomes Induced by Drugs of Abuse

Year: 2018

Type: review

Abstract: The lateral habenula (LHb) regulates reward learning and controls the updating of reward-related information. Drugs of abuse have the capacity to hijack the cellular and neurocircuit mechanisms mediating reward learning, forming non-adaptable, compulsive behaviors geared toward obtaining illicit substances. Here, we discuss current findings demonstrating how drugs of abuse alter intrinsic and synaptic LHb neuronal function. Additionally, we discuss evidence for how drug-induced LHb alterations may affect the ability to predict reward, potentially facilitating an addiction-like state. Altogether, we combine ex vivo and in vivo results for an overview of how drugs of abuse alter LHb function and how these functional alterations affect the ability to learn and update behavioral responses to hedonic external stimuli.

Source: Frontiers in Synaptic Neuroscience

DOI: 10.3389/fnsyn.2018.00012

Authors: Nicholas M. Graziane, Peter A. Neumann, Yan Dong

Institutions: Pennsylvania State University, Stanford Medicine, Stanford University, University of Pittsburgh

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: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,801