Abstract
The attribution of incentive salience to reward-predictive stimuli has been shown to be associated with substance abuse-like behavior such as increased drug taking. Evidence suggests that glutamate neurotransmission and sequential N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) activation are involved in the attribution of incentive salience. Here, we further explore the role of second-by-second glutamate neurotransmission in the attribution of incentive salience to reward-predictive stimuli by measuring sign-tracking behavior during a Pavlovian conditioned approach procedure using ceramic-based microelectrode arrays configured for sensitive measures of extracellular glutamate in awake behaving Sprague-Dawley rats. Specifically, we show that there is an increase in extracellular glutamate levels in the prelimbic cortex (PrL) and the nucleus accumbens core (NAcC) during sign-tracking behavior to a food-predictive conditioned stimulus (CS+) compared to the presentation of a non-predictive conditioned stimulus (CS−). Furthermore, the results indicate greater increases in extracellular glutamate levels in the PrL compared to NAcC in response to the CS+, including differences in glutamate release and signal decay. Taken together, the present research suggests that there is differential glutamate signaling in the NAcC and PrL during sign-tracking behavior to a food-predictive CS+. (Figure presented.).
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 276-286 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Journal of Neurochemistry |
Volume | 145 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 2018 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2018 International Society for Neurochemistry
Keywords
- glutamate
- incentive salience
- nucleus accumbens
- pavlovian conditioned approach
- prelimbic cortex
- sign-tracking
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biochemistry
- Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience