Oxytocin directly administered into the nucleus accumbens core or subthalamic nucleus attenuates methamphetamine-induced conditioned place preference

► A conditioned place preference for methamphetamine formed after a single pairing. ► A preference did not form after an oxytocin pretreatment in the accumbens core. ► A preference did not form after an oxytocin pretreatment in the subthalamic nucleus. ► Methamphetamine hyperactivity was not reduced...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Behavioural brain research 2012-03, Vol.228 (1), p.185-193
Main Authors: Baracz, Sarah J., Rourke, Poppy I., Pardey, Margery C., Hunt, Glenn E., McGregor, Iain S., Cornish, Jennifer L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Choice Behavior - drug effects
Choice Behavior - physiology
Conditioned place preference
Conditioning (Psychology) - drug effects
Conditioning (Psychology) - physiology
Injections, Intraperitoneal
Male
Methamphetamine
Methamphetamine - antagonists & inhibitors
Methamphetamine - pharmacology
Microinjections - methods
Microinjections - psychology
Nucleus Accumbens - drug effects
Nucleus Accumbens - physiology
Nucleus accumbens core
Oxytocin
Oxytocin - administration & dosage
Oxytocin - pharmacology
Oxytocin - physiology
Rats
Rats, Sprague-Dawley
Reward
Subthalamic nucleus
Subthalamic Nucleus - drug effects
Subthalamic Nucleus - physiology
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Summary:► A conditioned place preference for methamphetamine formed after a single pairing. ► A preference did not form after an oxytocin pretreatment in the accumbens core. ► A preference did not form after an oxytocin pretreatment in the subthalamic nucleus. ► Methamphetamine hyperactivity was not reduced by a local oxytocin injection. Accumulating evidence indicates that the neuropeptide oxytocin (OXY) may modulate reward-related behavioural responses to methamphetamine (METH) administration. Limited research has examined the effect of OXY on METH-induced conditioned place preference (CPP) and little is known about the neural mechanisms involved. A Fos immunohistochemistry study recently demonstrated that peripheral OXY administration reduced METH-induced Fos expression within the nucleus accumbens (NAc) core and subthalamic nucleus (STh) in rats. The current study aimed to (i) investigate the effect of systemically administered OXY on METH-induced CPP, (ii) determine the effectiveness of a single-trial CPP procedure with METH, in order to (iii) evaluate whether pretreatment with OXY injected directly into the NAc core or the STh attenuates METH-induced CPP. Results showed that male Sprague Dawley rats learned to associate unique compartmental cues with METH (1 mg/kg, i.p.) such that they spent more time in the METH-paired compartment and less time in the saline-paired compartment. Pretreatment with systemic OXY (0.6 mg, i.p.), or OXY (0.6 ng, i.c.) microinjected into the NAc core or the STh prior to METH administration attenuated the formation of a CPP to METH. This provides further evidence that OXY acts within either the NAc core or the STh to reduce the rewarding effects of METH administration.
ISSN:0166-4328
1872-7549
DOI:10.1016/j.bbr.2011.11.038