Amphetamine administration into the ventral striatum facilitates behavioral interaction with unconditioned visual signals in rats.
BACKGROUND
Administration of psychomotor stimulants like amphetamine facilitates behavior in the presence of incentive distal stimuli, which have acquired the motivational properties of primary rewards through associative learning. This facilitation appears to be mediated by the mesolimbic dopamine system, which may also be involved in facilitating behavior in the presence of distal stimuli that have not been previously paired with primary rewards. However, it is unclear whether psychomotor stimulants facilitate behavioral interaction with unconditioned distal stimuli.


RESULTS
We found that noncontingent administration of amphetamine into subregions of the rat ventral striatum, particularly in the vicinity of the medial olfactory tubercle, facilitates lever pressing followed by visual signals that had not been paired with primary rewards. Noncontingent administration of amphetamine failed to facilitate lever pressing when it was followed by either tones or delayed presentation or absence of visual signals, suggesting that visual signals are key for enhanced behavioral interaction. Systemic administration of amphetamine markedly increased locomotor activity, but did not necessarily increase lever pressing rewarded by visual signals, suggesting that lever pressing is not a byproduct of heightened locomotor activity. Lever pressing facilitated by amphetamine was reduced by co-administration of the dopamine receptor antagonists SCH 23390 (D1 selective) or sulpiride (D2 selective).


CONCLUSIONS
Our results suggest that amphetamine administration into the ventral striatum, particularly in the vicinity of the medial olfactory tubercle, activates dopaminergic mechanisms that strongly enhance behavioral interaction with unconditioned visual stimuli.
Shin
Rick
R
Behavioral Neuroscience Research Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, United States Department of Health and Human Services, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America.
Cao
Junran
J
Webb
Sierra M
SM
Ikemoto
Satoshi
S
D000661:Amphetamine / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D018492:Dopamine Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
D018492:Dopamine Antagonists; D000661:Amphetamine