QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

HOME  |   SEARCH  |   ARCHIVE  |   SUBSCRIBE  |   CONTACT  |   HELP

The Journal of Neuroscience, May 13, 2009, 29(19):6176-6185; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5221-08.2009

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Supplemental Data Submit an eLetter Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Web of Science (1) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Schiffer, W. K. Articles by Dewey, S. L. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Schiffer, W. K. Articles by Dewey, S. L.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Behavioral/Systems/Cognitive
Cue-Induced Dopamine Release Predicts Cocaine Preference: Positron Emission Tomography Studies in Freely Moving Rodents

Wynne K. Schiffer,^1,2 Courtney N. B. Liebling,¹ Corinne Reiszel,¹ Jacob M. Hooker,¹ Jonathan D. Brodie,² and Stephen L. Dewey^1,2

¹Medical Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973, and ²Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York 10016

Correspondence should be addressed to Dr. Wynne K. Schiffer, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Chemistry Building 555, Upton, NY 11973. Email: wynne{at}bnl.gov

Positron emission tomography studies in drug-addicted patients have shown that exposure to drug-related cues increases striatal dopamine, which displaces binding of the D₂ ligand, [¹¹C]-raclopride. However, it is not known if animals will also show cue-induced displacement of [¹¹C]-raclopride binding. In this study, we use [¹¹C]-raclopride imaging in awake rodents to capture cue-induced changes in dopamine release associated with the conditioned place preference model of drug craving. Ten animals were conditioned to receive cocaine in a contextually distinct environment from where they received saline. Following conditioning, each animal was tested for preference and then received two separate [¹¹C]-raclopride scans. For each scan, animals were confined to the cocaine and/or the saline-paired environment for the first 25 min of uptake, after which they were anesthetized and scanned. [¹¹C]-raclopride uptake in the saline-paired environment served as a within-animal control for uptake in the cocaine-paired environment. Cocaine produced a significant place preference (p = 0.004) and exposure to the cocaine-paired environment decreased [¹¹C]-raclopride binding relative to the saline-paired environment in both the dorsal (20%; p < 0.002) and ventral striatum (22%; p < 0.05). The change in [¹¹C]-raclopride binding correlated with preference in the ventral striatum (R² = –0.87; p = 0.003). In this region, animals who showed little or no preference exhibited little or no change in [¹¹C]-raclopride binding in the cocaine-paired environment. This noninvasive procedure of monitoring neurochemical events in freely moving, behaving animals advances preclinical molecular imaging by interrogating the degree to which animal models reflect the human condition on multiple dimensions, both biological and behavioral.

---

Received Oct. 27, 2008; revised Feb. 20, 2009; accepted March 5, 2009.

Correspondence should be addressed to Dr. Wynne K. Schiffer, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Chemistry Building 555, Upton, NY 11973. Email: wynne{at}bnl.gov

Home  |   Search  |   Archive  |   Subscribe  |   Contact  |   Help