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Rapid, transient potentiation of dendritic spines in context-induced relapse to cocaine seeking

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

25 Scopus citations

Abstract

Addiction to cocaine produces long-lasting, stable changes in brain synaptic physiology that might contribute to the vulnerability to relapse. In humans, exposure to environmental contexts previously paired with drug use precipitates relapse, but the neurobiological mechanisms mediating this process are unknown. Initiation of cocaine relapse via re-exposure to a drug-associated context elicited reinstatement of cocaine seeking as well as rapid, transient synaptic plasticity in the nucleus accumbens core (NAcore), measured as an increase in dendritic spine diameter. These results show that rapid context-evoked synaptic potentiation in the NAcore may underpin relapse to cocaine use.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)972-974
Number of pages3
JournalAddiction Biology
Volume19
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 1 2014

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2013 Society for the Study of Addiction.

Funding

FundersFunder number
National Institutes of Health (NIH)DA03906, DA012513, DA015369, DA033690
Author National Institute on Drug Abuse DA031791 Mark J Ferris National Institute on Drug Abuse DA006634 Mark J Ferris National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism AA026117 Mark J Ferris National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism AA028162 Elizabeth G Pitts National Institute of General Medical Sciences GM102773 Elizabeth G Pitts Peter McManus Charitable Trust Mark J Ferris National Institute on Drug AbuseP50DA015369, R01DA012513, F32DA033690, R01DA003906

    UN SDGs

    This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

    1. SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
      SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

    Keywords

    • Cocaine
    • context-induced relapse
    • dendritic spines
    • nucleus accumbens core
    • synaptic potentiation

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Medicine (miscellaneous)
    • Pharmacology
    • Psychiatry and Mental health

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