Abstract
The transcriptional response to six commonly-abused drugs was assessed in the mouse brain revealing common modules of drug-induced genes.
Highlights
Various drugs of abuse activate intracellular pathways in the brain reward system
Conditioned place preference (CPP) tests were performed using an unbiased procedure in a three-arm apparatus
Morphine, heroin and methamphetamine treatment induced a robust preference for the drug-paired compartment (ANOVA, Newman-Keuls test, P < 0.05; Figure 1a)
Summary
Various drugs of abuse activate intracellular pathways in the brain reward system These pathways regulate the expression of genes that are essential to the development of addiction. Acute exposure to drugs of abuse initiates molecular and cellular alterations in the central nervous system [2,3] that lead to an increased overall vulnerability to addiction with subsequent drug exposures [4] These drug-induced alterations employ changes in gene transcription that result in the synthesis of new proteins [5]. The major neural target sites of addictive drugs are the ventral and the dorsal striatum, that is, the brain regions that control reward sensitivity, motor function and habit learning [6]. Psychostimulants directly influence extracellular dopamine levels in the striatum through inhibitory
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