title: Involvement of dorsal striatal α1-containing GABAA receptors in methamphetamine-associated rewarding memories.
abstract: Rewarding memories induced by addictive drugs may contribute to persistent drug-seeking behaviors, which is an important contributing factor to drug addiction. However, the biological mechanisms underlying drug-associated rewarding memories have not yet been fully understood, especially the new synthetic drugs, such as amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS). In this study, using the rat-conditioned place preference (CPP) model, a classic animal model for the reward-associated effects of addictive drugs, we found that the expression level of GABAA α1 subunits was significantly decreased in the dorsal striatum (Dstr) after conditioned methamphetamine (METH) pairing, and no significant differences were observed in the other four rewarding memory-associated areas (medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), nucleus accumbens (NAc), amygdala (Amy), and dorsal hippocampus (DH)). Intra-Dstr injection of either the GABAA receptor agonist muscimol or the specific α1GABAA receptor-preferring benzodiazepine (BDZ) agonist zolpidem significantly abolished METH CPP formation. Thus, this study extends previous findings by showing that GABAA receptors, particularly the α1-containing GABAA receptors, may be strongly implicated in METH-associated rewarding memories. This work provides us with a new perspective on the goal of treating ATS addiction.
authors: Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200030, China.
authors: D-L
authors: DL
authors: Jiao
authors: Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200030, China.
authors: Y
authors: Y
authors: Liu
authors: Key Laboratory of Receptor Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203, China.
authors: J-D
authors: JD
authors: Long
authors: Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200030, China.
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Du
authors: Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200030, China.
authors: Y-Y
authors: YY
authors: Ju
authors: Key Laboratory of Receptor Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203, China.
authors: G-Y
authors: GY
authors: Zan
authors: Key Laboratory of Receptor Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203, China. Electronic address: jgliu@mail.shcnc.ac.cn.
authors: J-G
authors: JG
authors: Liu
authors: Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200030, China. Electronic address: drminzhao@gmail.com.
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Zhao
mesh_terms: D019969:Amphetamine-Related Disorders / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003216:Conditioning, Operant; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D008694:Methamphetamine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D011963:Receptors, GABA-A / Q000378:metabolism*; D012201:Reward
chemical_list: D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants; D011963:Receptors, GABA-A; D008694:Methamphetamine
keywords: GABA(A)α1; conditioned place preference; dorsal striatum; methamphetamine; rewarding memories