title: Reduced LTP and LTD in prefrontal cortex synapses in the nucleus accumbens after heroin self-administration.
abstract: Addiction changes prefrontal cortex regulation of the nucleus accumbens, including reduced ability to induce long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD). This important potential mechanism of impaired prefrontal regulation of behaviour has been shown only for cocaine. Here we show that animals trained to self-administer heroin demonstrate impaired LTP and LTD in the core of the nucleus accumbens following in vivo stimulation of the prelimbic prefrontal cortex. These data indicate that compromised synaptic plasticity in prefrontal to accumbens projections is a common feature of at least two distinct classes of addictive drug.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425, USA. shenhaowei@gmail.com
authors.forename: Haowei
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Peter W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Kalivas
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001703:Biophysics; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D003932:Heroin / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D017774:Long-Term Potentiation / Q000187:drug effects; D036881:Long-Term Synaptic Depression / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D009294:Narcotics / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D009714:Nucleus Accumbens / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000166:cytology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012646:Self Administration; D013569:Synapses / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D009294:Narcotics; D003932:Heroin