BACKGROUND We have examined the effects of nicotine pretreatment on dopaminergic and behavioral responses to conditioned fear stress in the rat. METHODS Rats were pretreated daily with saline or nicotine for 20 days then challenged with nicotine or saline on day 21. Animals were trained in a classical conditioned fear paradigm. Dopamine utilization in the medial prefrontal cortex and nucleus ...

The effects of the active ingredient of Cannabis, Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Delta9-THC), and of the highly addictive drug heroin on in vivo dopamine transmission in the nucleus accumbens were compared in Sprague-Dawley rats by brain microdialysis. Delta9-THC and heroin increased extracellular dopamine concentrations selectively in the shell of the nucleus accumbens; these effects were mimick...

The dopamine transporter (DAT) regulates extracellular dopamine concentrations, transports neurotoxins, and acts as a substrate for cocaine reinforcement. These functions are known to differ in the limbic-associated shell and motor-associated core compartments of the nucleus accumbens (NAc). Previous studies have shown differential expression of DAT in the NAc shell and core but were limited in...

The dopaminergic innervation of the nucleus accumbens (NAc) is implicated in the selection and integration of motivationally relevant corticolimbic information that governs behavioral output. However, it is unknown whether the dopaminergic innervations of two anatomically distinct subregions of the NAc, core and shell, have differential roles in this gating process, and whether dopaminergic mec...

The delayed onset of action of antipsychotic drugs (APDs) during the treatment of schizophrenia has been hypothesized to temporally correlate with the induction of depolarization block in rat mesencephalic dopamine (DA) cell groups. Nevertheless, it is unknown whether these drugs also exert a delayed action on the dopaminoceptive postsynaptic target cells in the striatal complex. Using in vivo ...

The mesolimbic dopamine (DA) system contains both D1-like and D2-like receptors, has been connected to control of locomotor behavior. An apparent role for D1 and D2 receptors throughout the mesolimbic system in the alteration of locomotor behavior has been demonstrated in pharmacological studies. The nucleus accumbens (NAc) is comprised of a core and a shell subregion, which is a component of t...

Glutamatergic system stimulation in some parts of the brain may affect anxiety-related behaviours, aversive learning and memory. This system retains many interactions with dopaminergic neurotransmission. We have studied the effect of nucleus accumbens (NAc) shell glutamatergic system activation on anxiety-related behaviours as well as aversive learning and memory in adult male Wistar rats using...

Numerous studies have found that chronic cocaine increases dendritic spine density of medium spiny neurons in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). Here, we used single-cell microinjections and advanced 3D imaging and analysis techniques to extend these findings in several important ways: by assessing cocaine regulation of dendritic spines in the core versus shell subregions of NAc in the mouse, over a ...

The basal amygdaloid complex (BAC) topographically projects to the nucleus accumbens (Acb) in patchy, inhomogeneous patterns. These termination patterns may be related to the histological features of the Acb that define the shell, core, and adjacent ventral caudate-putamen (CPv), and the ventral striatal compartments providing output to different autonomic, motor, and endocrine targets. Knowled...