Cocaine-induced adaptations in D1 and D2 accumbens projection neurons (a dichotomy not necessarily synonymous with direct and indirect pathways). Academic Article

abstract

• Cocaine exposure causes enduring neuroadaptations in ventral striatum, or nucleus accumbens (NAc), an area critically involved in reward learning and relapse of drug seeking. Medium spiny neurons (MSNs) in striatum are dichotomous in their expression of either D1 or D2 dopamine receptors, along with other receptors and neuropeptides. In dorsal striatum, these two subpopulations show non-overlapping innervation of distinct terminal fields via the direct or indirect pathways. However, NAc D1-MSNs and D2-MSNs are not fully segregated in this manner, with both cell types innervating ventral pallidum. Recent studies show that D1-MSNs and D2-MSNs play opposing roles in cocaine-associated behaviors. Further, cocaine induces differential adaptations in these two subpopulations in NAc, including changes to synaptic plasticity, glutamatergic signaling, and spine morphology.

authors

• Smith, Rachel

published proceedings

• Curr Opin Neurobiol

author list (cited authors)

• Smith, R. J., Lobo, M. K., Spencer, S., & Kalivas, P. W.

citation count

• 201

complete list of authors

• Smith, Rachel J||Lobo, Mary Kay||Spencer, Sade||Kalivas, Peter W

publication date

• January 2013

publisher

• Elsevier  Publisher

published in

• Current Opinion in Neurobiology  Journal

keywords

• Adaptation, Physiological
• Animals
• COCAINE
• Neural Pathways
• Nucleus Accumbens
• Receptors, Dopamine D1
• Receptors, Dopamine D2

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

• 10.1016/j.conb.2013.01.026

start page

• 546

end page

• 552

volume

• 23

issue

• 4

URL

• http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1016%2Fj.conb.2013.01.026

user-defined tag

• 3 Good Health and Well-Being