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The Journal of Neuroscience, November 15, 1999, 19(22):9780-9787
Amphetamine Depresses Excitatory Synaptic Transmission via
Serotonin Receptors in the Ventral Tegmental Area
Susan
Jones and
Julie A.
Kauer
Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham,
North Carolina 27710
The ventral tegmental area (VTA) is the origination zone for
dopaminergic neurons involved in reward and addictive properties of a
variety of abused substances. A major excitatory projection to VTA
neurons originates in the medial prefrontal cortex, and several lines
of evidence suggest that glutamatergic synapses on VTA neurons are
activated and modified during exposure to psychostimulant drugs. Here,
we report for the first time that amphetamine depresses excitatory
glutamatergic synaptic transmission onto VTA neurons in the midbrain
slice preparation. Unexpectedly, this depression is mediated not by
activation of dopamine receptors, but instead by activation of
serotonin receptors. Our findings suggest that an acute effect of
amphetamine exposure is the release of serotonin in the VTA, which in
turn modulates excitation of VTA neurons. This process may be an
important early component of permanent changes occurring in the reward
pathway that contribute to drug addiction.
Key words:
ventral tegmental area (VTA); amphetamine; psychostimulants; excitatory synaptic transmission; serotonin; glutamatergic
Copyright © 1999 Society for Neuroscience 0270-6474/99/19229780-08$05.00/0
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