Repeated cocaine exposure in vivo facilitates LTP induction in midbrain dopamine neurons

Qing-song Liu (), Lu Pu and Mu-ming Poo ()
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Qing-song Liu: University of California
Lu Pu: University of California
Mu-ming Poo: University of California

Nature, 2005, vol. 437, issue 7061, 1027-1031

Abstract: Cocaine targets memory Changes in plasticity of dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of the brain are associated with addiction to cocaine and other drugs of abuse. A study in mice suggests that the VTA may also be involved in forming drug-associated memory. Repeated doses of cocaine facilitated long-term potentiation in dopamine neurons, a phenomenon seen as a form of memory in which interlinked neurons acting together become more strongly connected. Cocaine seems to act by reducing GABA-mediated neuronal inhibition. These changes may explain the action of the antiepileptic drug γ-vinyl-GABA (vigabatrin), now in clinical trials for the treatment of cocaine addiction.

Date: 2005
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DOI: 10.1038/nature04050

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