Several recent studies have reported that D-cycloserine (DCS), a partial N-methyl-D-aspartate agonist, facilitates extinction of learned fear in rats. Other studies have shown that representation of the unconditioned stimulus (US) can reinstate learned fear after extinction. This study examined whether this reinstatement effect occurs in Sprague-Dawley rats given DCS at the time of extinction. ...

Objective: In the present study, the effects of aqueous saffron extract (Crocus sativus L.) on the acquisition and reinstatement of morphine-induced conditioned place preference (CPP) in mice were investigated. Materials and Methods: Subcutaneous administration of morphine (40 mg/kg for four days) produced place preference. Intraperitoneal administration of aqueous extract (40 and 80 mg/kg for ...

Ventral Tegmental Area Regulation of Stress-Induced Reinstatement of CocaineSeeking Behavior Jordan M. Blacktop, B.S. Marquette University, 2013 No FDA approved medications currently exist for the prevention of drug craving, drug seeking, and relapse to cocaine use. Stress is a major factor in causing relapse in cocaine dependent individuals. Cocaine use is positively correlated with stress-ind...

BACKGROUND Numerous studies have indicated that serotonin (5-HT)1B receptor ligands affect the behavioral effects of psychostimulants (cocaine, amphetamine), including the reinforcing activities of these drugs. METHODS To substantiate a role for those receptors in incentive motivation for amphetamine, we used the extinction/reinstatement model to examine the effects of the 5-HT1B receptor lig...

The orexin/hypocretin system has been implicated in multiple phases of drug addiction. Acute orexin receptor blockade with the orexin-1 receptor (OX1R) antagonist, SB-334867, has been found to reduce cocaine seeking after cocaine self-administration. As repeated drug dosing can have differential effects and is more clinically relevant than acute dosing, in the current study we examined the effe...

Cocaine addiction is characterized by a persistently heightened susceptibility to drug relapse. For this reason, the identification of medications that prevent drug relapse is a critical goal of drug abuse research. Drug re-exposure, the onset of stressful life events, and exposure to cues previously associated with drug use have been identified as determinants of relapse in humans and have bee...

Drug addiction is considered an aberrant form of learning, and drug-associated memories evoked by the presence of associated stimuli (drug context or drug-related cues) contribute to recurrent craving and reinstatement. Epigenetic changes mediated by DNA methyltransferase (DNMT) have been implicated in the reconsolidation of fear memory. Here, we investigated the role of DNMT activity in the re...

Drug addiction is a chronic disorder associated with recurrent craving and relapse often precipitated by the presence of drug-associated stimuli. Pharmacological and behavioral treatments that disrupt drug-associated stimulus memories could be beneficial in the treatment of addictive disorders. Memory restabilization (or reconsolidation) following retrieval of drug-paired stimuli depends upon t...

Exposure to cues associated with drug taking is a major cause of relapse in humans. The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the insular cortex are two brain regions that have been strongly implicated in cue-induced relapse to smoking. To increase our understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms in these areas, we analyzed synaptic protein regulation associated with cue-induced reinstate...

The extinction of conditioned fear is labile. For example, fear to an extinguished conditioned stimulus (CS) returns after presentation of an aversive stimulus ("reinstatement") or a change in context ("renewal"). Substantial research implicates the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) in the stress-induced relapse of extinguished behaviors, such as in instrumental drug seeking, but its r...