Acute cocaine exposure alters spine density and long-term potentiation in the ventral tegmental area.
Growing evidence indicates that the expression of synaptic plasticity in the central nervous system results in dendritic reorganization and spine remodeling. Although long-term potentiation of glutamatergic synapses after cocaine exposure in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) has been proposed as a cellular mechanism underlying addictive behaviors, the relationship between long-term potentiation and dendritic remodeling induced by cocaine on the dopaminergic neurons of the VTA has not been demonstrated. Here we report that rat VTA cells classified as type I and II showed distinct morphological responses to cocaine, as a single cocaine exposure significantly increased dendritic spine density in type I but not in type II cells. Further, only type I cells had a significant increase in the AMPA receptor:NMDA receptor ratio after a single cocaine exposure. Taken together, our data provide evidence that increased spine density and synaptic plasticity are coexpressed within the same VTA neuronal population and that only type I neurons are structurally and synaptically modified by cocaine.
Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center, Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, 5858 Horton Street, Suite #200, Emeryville, San Francisco, CA 94608, USA.
Federica
F
Sarti
Stephanie L
SL
Borgland
Viktor N
VN
Kharazia
Antonello
A
Bonci
D000200:Action Potentials / Q000187:drug effects; D000818:Animals; D048430:Cell Shape / Q000187:drug effects; D003042:Cocaine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D049229:Dendritic Spines / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism; D018765:Dopamine Uptake Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D017774:Long-Term Potentiation / Q000187:drug effects*; D008239:Lysine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D008297:Male; D009924:Organ Culture Techniques; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D018091:Receptors, AMPA / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D013194:Staining and Labeling; D013569:Synapses / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000187:drug effects; D017557:Ventral Tegmental Area / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*
D018765:Dopamine Uptake Inhibitors; D018091:Receptors, AMPA; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate; D018698:Glutamic Acid; C013411:biocytin; D003042:Cocaine; D008239:Lysine; D004298:Dopamine