BENINGER, R. J., R. MILLER. Dopamine D1-like receptors and reward-related incentive learning. NEUROSCI BIOBEHAV REV 22(2), 335–345, 1998.—There now is general agreement that dopaminergic neurons projecting from ventral mesencephalic nuclei to forebrain targets play a critical role in reward-related incentive learning. Many recent experiments evaluate the role of dopamine (DA) receptor subtypes ...

Multiple ascending neurotransmitter systems participate in the regulation of behavioral state. For example, noradrenergic, cholinergic, and serotonergic systems increase EEG and, in some cases, behavioral indices of arousal. The extent to which dopaminergic systems exert a similar activating influence on behavioral state remains unclear. The current studies examined the wake-promoting actions o...

BACKGROUND The mesocorticolimbic dopamine system, which originates from the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and projects primarily to the prefrontal cortex (PFC), olfactory tubercle (OT), nucleus accumbens (NAc), dorsal striatum (ST), and the amygdala (AMy), plays a pivotal role in determining individual motivation and sensitivity to rewards, namely, anhedonia. Not all depressive individuals exhib...

Dopamine D1 ligands have been classified and ordered according to efficacy in both in vitro and in vivo studies. In the present experiments, dopamine D1 ligands reported to differ in in vitro efficacy were evaluated for efficacy-related effects on eye blinking in squirrel monkeys. Additional comparisons were made with the effects of D2 receptor agonists and indirect dopamine agonists. The resul...

Evidence indicates that blockade of cannabinoid receptors increases acetylcholine (ACh) release in brain cortical regions. Although it is assumed that this type of effect is mediated through CB1 receptor (CB1R) antagonism, several in vitro functional studies recently have suggested non-CB1R involvement. In addition, neither the precise neuroanatomical site nor the exact mechanisms underlying th...

The medial entorhinal cortex (MEC) receives a dense dopaminergic innervation and expresses dopamine receptors. However, little is known about the effect of dopamine on GABAergic transmission in this region of the brain. In this study, we recorded GABAA receptor-mediated spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic currents (sIPSCs) and miniature inhibitory postsynaptic currents (mIPSCs) by using whole-c...

Contralateral turning was produced by unilateral injection of carbachol (0.5, 2.5, 5 micrograms) into the nucleus accumbens, but not into the dorsal or ventral striatum. This behaviour was inhibited by muscarinic M1 acetylcholine receptor blockade in the nucleus accumbens, and less effectively by blockade of muscarinic M2 and nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. Unilateral injection of a mixture ...

Dopaminergic signaling in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) is important for drug-stimulus learning that triggers relapse to drug-seeking behavior. However, little is known about adaptive changes in this signaling pathway upon chronic morphine treatment. In this paper, we observed the influence of chronic morphine treatment on the effect of dopamine (DA) on the excitatory transmission in the pyram...