Abstract
Structural changes in neurons in the brain's reward circuits are thought to underlie the changes in behaviour that follow exposure to addictive substances, but little is known about the molecular pathways involved. Here, the authors show that dendritic remodelling in medium spiny neurons in the mouse nucleus accumbens in response to repeated cocaine exposure requires the downregulation of the activity of RAC1, a small GTPase that regulates actin remodelling. Furthermore, the repression of RAC1 activity promotes behavioural responses to cocaine exposure, confirming the importance of this pathway for cocaine-induced structural and behavioural plasticity.
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