title: Differential effects of accumbens core vs. shell lesions in a rat concurrent conditioned place preference paradigm for cocaine vs. social interaction.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A main challenge in the therapy of drug dependent individuals is to help them reactivate interest in non-drug-associated activities. Among these activities, social interaction is doubly important because treatment adherence itself depends on it. We previously developed a rat experimental model based on the conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigm in which only four 15-min episodes of social interaction with a gender- and weight-matched male conspecific (i) reversed CPP from cocaine to social interaction despite continuing cocaine training and (ii) prevented the reinstatement of cocaine CPP. In the present study, we investigated if the two subregions of the nucleus accumbens (Acb), i.e., the core (AcbC) and the shell (AcbSh), would differentially affect CPP for cocaine vs social interaction.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Animals were concurrently trained for CPP pairing cocaine with one compartment and social interaction with the other (i.e., mutually exclusive stimulus presentation during training). Excitotoxic lesioning of the AcbC or the BLA shifted CPP toward social interaction, whereas AcbSh inactivation shifted CPP toward cocaine.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Overall, our findings suggest that inactivation of the AcbC or the BLA is sufficient to shift CPP away from a drug of abuse toward social interaction. Lesioning the AcbSh produced the opposite effect.
authors: Experimental Psychiatry Unit, Department of General Psychiatry and Social Psychiatry, Center for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
authors: Michael
authors: M
authors: Fritz
authors: Rana
authors: R
authors: El Rawas
authors: Sabine
authors: S
authors: Klement
authors: Kai
authors: K
authors: Kummer
authors: Michael J
authors: MJ
authors: Mayr
authors: Vincent
authors: V
authors: Eggart
authors: Ahmad
authors: A
authors: Salti
authors: Michael T
authors: MT
authors: Bardo
authors: Alois
authors: A
authors: Saria
authors: Gerald
authors: G
authors: Zernig
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003042:Cocaine; D003216:Conditioning, Operant / Q000502:physiology*; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D009714:Nucleus Accumbens / Q000502:physiology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D003042:Cocaine