Skip to main content

Main menu

  • HOME
  • CONTENT
    • Early Release
    • Featured
    • Current Issue
    • Issue Archive
    • Collections
    • Podcast
  • ALERTS
  • FOR AUTHORS
    • Information for Authors
    • Fees
    • Journal Clubs
    • eLetters
    • Submit
  • EDITORIAL BOARD
  • ABOUT
    • Overview
    • Advertise
    • For the Media
    • Rights and Permissions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Feedback
  • SUBSCRIBE

User menu

  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
Journal of Neuroscience
  • Log in
  • My Cart
Journal of Neuroscience

Advanced Search

Submit a Manuscript
  • HOME
  • CONTENT
    • Early Release
    • Featured
    • Current Issue
    • Issue Archive
    • Collections
    • Podcast
  • ALERTS
  • FOR AUTHORS
    • Information for Authors
    • Fees
    • Journal Clubs
    • eLetters
    • Submit
  • EDITORIAL BOARD
  • ABOUT
    • Overview
    • Advertise
    • For the Media
    • Rights and Permissions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Feedback
  • SUBSCRIBE
PreviousNext
Articles, Neurobiology of Disease

BDNF Signaling in the VTA Links the Drug-Dependent State to Drug Withdrawal Aversions

Hector Vargas-Perez, Amine Bahi, Mary Rose Bufalino, Ryan Ting-A-Kee, Geith Maal-Bared, Jenny Lam, Ahmed Fahmy, Laura Clarke, Jennifer K. Blanchard, Brett R. Larsen, Scott Steffensen, Jean-Luc Dreyer and Derek van der Kooy
Journal of Neuroscience 4 June 2014, 34 (23) 7899-7909; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3776-13.2014
Hector Vargas-Perez
1Department of Molecular Genetics, Neurobiology Research Group, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5S3E1 Canada,
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Amine Bahi
2Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Alabama Ain, 17666 United Arab Emirates,
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Mary Rose Bufalino
3Department of Medical Biophysics, Terrence Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5S3E1 Canada,
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Ryan Ting-A-Kee
1Department of Molecular Genetics, Neurobiology Research Group, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5S3E1 Canada,
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Geith Maal-Bared
1Department of Molecular Genetics, Neurobiology Research Group, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5S3E1 Canada,
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Jenny Lam
1Department of Molecular Genetics, Neurobiology Research Group, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5S3E1 Canada,
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Ahmed Fahmy
1Department of Molecular Genetics, Neurobiology Research Group, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5S3E1 Canada,
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Laura Clarke
1Department of Molecular Genetics, Neurobiology Research Group, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5S3E1 Canada,
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Jennifer K. Blanchard
4Department of Psychology and Center for Neuroscience, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, and
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Brett R. Larsen
4Department of Psychology and Center for Neuroscience, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, and
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Scott Steffensen
4Department of Psychology and Center for Neuroscience, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, and
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Jean-Luc Dreyer
5Department of Medicine, Division of Biochemistry, University of Fribourg, Fribourg 1700, Switzerland
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Derek van der Kooy
1Department of Molecular Genetics, Neurobiology Research Group, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5S3E1 Canada,
3Department of Medical Biophysics, Terrence Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5S3E1 Canada,
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • eLetters
  • PDF
Loading

Abstract

Drug administration to avoid unpleasant drug withdrawal symptoms has been hypothesized to be a crucial factor that leads to compulsive drug-taking behavior. However, the neural relationship between the aversive motivational state produced by drug withdrawal and the development of the drug-dependent state still remains elusive. It has been observed that chronic exposure to drugs of abuse increases brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels in ventral tegmental area (VTA) neurons. In particular, BDNF expression is dramatically increased during drug withdrawal, which would suggest a direct connection between the aversive state of withdrawal and BDNF-induced neuronal plasticity. Using lentivirus-mediated gene transfer to locally knock down the expression of the BDNF receptor tropomyosin-receptor-kinase type B in rats and mice, we observed that chronic opiate administration activates BDNF-related neuronal plasticity in the VTA that is necessary for both the establishment of an opiate-dependent state and aversive withdrawal motivation. Our findings highlight the importance of a bivalent, plastic mechanism that drives the negative reinforcement underlying addiction.

  • BDNF
  • dependent state
  • drug addiction
  • opiates
  • TrkB
  • withdrawal
View Full Text
Back to top

In this issue

The Journal of Neuroscience: 34 (23)
Journal of Neuroscience
Vol. 34, Issue 23
4 Jun 2014
  • Table of Contents
  • Table of Contents (PDF)
  • About the Cover
  • Index by author
  • Advertising (PDF)
  • Ed Board (PDF)
Email

Thank you for sharing this Journal of Neuroscience article.

NOTE: We request your email address only to inform the recipient that it was you who recommended this article, and that it is not junk mail. We do not retain these email addresses.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
BDNF Signaling in the VTA Links the Drug-Dependent State to Drug Withdrawal Aversions
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from Journal of Neuroscience
(Your Name) thought you would be interested in this article in Journal of Neuroscience.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Print
View Full Page PDF
Citation Tools
BDNF Signaling in the VTA Links the Drug-Dependent State to Drug Withdrawal Aversions
Hector Vargas-Perez, Amine Bahi, Mary Rose Bufalino, Ryan Ting-A-Kee, Geith Maal-Bared, Jenny Lam, Ahmed Fahmy, Laura Clarke, Jennifer K. Blanchard, Brett R. Larsen, Scott Steffensen, Jean-Luc Dreyer, Derek van der Kooy
Journal of Neuroscience 4 June 2014, 34 (23) 7899-7909; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3776-13.2014

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Respond to this article
Request Permissions
Share
BDNF Signaling in the VTA Links the Drug-Dependent State to Drug Withdrawal Aversions
Hector Vargas-Perez, Amine Bahi, Mary Rose Bufalino, Ryan Ting-A-Kee, Geith Maal-Bared, Jenny Lam, Ahmed Fahmy, Laura Clarke, Jennifer K. Blanchard, Brett R. Larsen, Scott Steffensen, Jean-Luc Dreyer, Derek van der Kooy
Journal of Neuroscience 4 June 2014, 34 (23) 7899-7909; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3776-13.2014
del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Jump to section

  • Article
    • Abstract
    • Introduction
    • Materials and Methods
    • Results
    • Discussion
    • Footnotes
    • References
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • eLetters
  • PDF

Keywords

  • BDNF
  • dependent state
  • drug addiction
  • opiates
  • TrkB
  • withdrawal

Responses to this article

Respond to this article

Jump to comment:

No eLetters have been published for this article.

Related Articles

Cited By...

More in this TOC Section

Articles

  • Choice Behavior Guided by Learned, But Not Innate, Taste Aversion Recruits the Orbitofrontal Cortex
  • Maturation of Spontaneous Firing Properties after Hearing Onset in Rat Auditory Nerve Fibers: Spontaneous Rates, Refractoriness, and Interfiber Correlations
  • Insulin Treatment Prevents Neuroinflammation and Neuronal Injury with Restored Neurobehavioral Function in Models of HIV/AIDS Neurodegeneration
Show more Articles

Neurobiology of Disease

  • Perturbed Information Processing Complexity in Experimental Epilepsy
  • Glial Cell Adhesion Molecule (GlialCAM) Determines Proliferative Versus Invasive Cell States in Glioblastoma
  • Dissociable effects of Alzheimer’s Disease-related cognitive dysfunction and aging on functional brain network segregation
Show more Neurobiology of Disease
  • Home
  • Alerts
  • Visit Society for Neuroscience on Facebook
  • Follow Society for Neuroscience on Twitter
  • Follow Society for Neuroscience on LinkedIn
  • Visit Society for Neuroscience on Youtube
  • Follow our RSS feeds

Content

  • Early Release
  • Current Issue
  • Issue Archive
  • Collections

Information

  • For Authors
  • For Advertisers
  • For the Media
  • For Subscribers

About

  • About the Journal
  • Editorial Board
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
(JNeurosci logo)
(SfN logo)

Copyright © 2023 by the Society for Neuroscience.
JNeurosci Online ISSN: 1529-2401

The ideas and opinions expressed in JNeurosci do not necessarily reflect those of SfN or the JNeurosci Editorial Board. Publication of an advertisement or other product mention in JNeurosci should not be construed as an endorsement of the manufacturer’s claims. SfN does not assume any responsibility for any injury and/or damage to persons or property arising from or related to any use of any material contained in JNeurosci.