title: Opposing roles of prelimbic and infralimbic dopamine in conditioned cue and place preference.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Increasing evidence points to the prelimbic (PL) and infralimbic (IL) cortices of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and their dopaminergic innervations subserving opposing roles in the regulation of instrumental behavior. However, it is at present unclear if they hold similar roles in the regulation of Pavlovian learning.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The present study investigated the role of the dopaminergic innervations of the PL and IL in the modulation of Pavlovian appetitive cue and place conditioning, previously shown to be dependent on the basolateral amygdala and hippocampus, respectively.
  
  
  METHODS
  Rats received preconditioning microinfusions of D-amphetamine, cis-flupenthixol, or vehicle solution directly into the PL or IL and were trained to simultaneously acquire conditioned cue and place preference in a radial maze.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Preconditioning blockade of dopamine neurotransmission in the PL and amphetamine microinfusions in the IL had the same effect of attenuating place conditioning. In contrast, place conditioning remained intact following preconditioning amphetamine microinfusions in the PL and dopamine receptor blockade in the IL. Instead, conditioned cue preference was attenuated following IL dopamine receptor blockade.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These data indicate that PL dopaminergic mechanisms are critical for the acquisition of appetitive place learning, while IL dopamine may oppose the influence of PL dopamine upon hippocampal-dependent learning. Furthermore, they implicate a functional reciprocity between mPFC and associated subregions of the nucleus accumbens in the regulation of limbic information processing.
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3UD, UK.
authors.forename: Anja
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hayen
authors.forename: Saira
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Meese-Tamuri
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gates
authors.forename: Rutsuko
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ito
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003214:Conditioning, Classical / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D003463:Cues; D003913:Dextroamphetamine / Q000494:pharmacology; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism*; D018492:Dopamine Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D018765:Dopamine Uptake Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D059290:Dopaminergic Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D005475:Flupenthixol / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D011954:Receptors, Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism; D013028:Space Perception / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D018492:Dopamine Antagonists; D018765:Dopamine Uptake Inhibitors; D011954:Receptors, Dopamine; D005475:Flupenthixol; D003913:Dextroamphetamine; D004298:Dopamine