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Injection of 5-HT into the nucleus accumbens reduces the effects ofd-amphetamine on responding for conditioned reward

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Abstract

Injection ofd-amphetamine into the nucleus accumbens potentiates responding for stimuli paired with a primary reward. A previous study showed that this potentiating effect ofd-amphetamine on responding for conditioned reward (CR) was attenuated by peripherally injectedd-fenfluramine, a 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) releaser and re-uptake inhibitor. The present experiments further examined the effects of manipulating 5-HT function within the nucleus accumbens on responding for CR, and on the potentiation of CR responding following intra-accumbens injection ofd-amphetamine. Water deprived rats were trained to associate a compound stimulus with water delivery during a conditioning phase. During a test phase water was not delivered, but the compound stimulus was delivered according to a random ratio 2 schedule following a response on one of two levers. Rats responded at a higher rate on the lever delivering this CR.d-Amphetamine (10 μg) injected into the nucleus accumbens enhanced responding on the CR lever. Co-injections of 5-HT (5 and 10 μg) into the nucleus accumbens abolished the response-potentiating effect ofd-amphetamine but were without effect on the base-line level of responding for CR. This reduction by 5-HT of the response potentiating effect ofd-amphetamine was prevented by prior treatment with the 5-HT receptor antagonist metergoline (1 mg/kg). Responding for water was not altered by 5-HT and so the effects of 5-HT on responding for CR cannot be due to a change in the motivation to seek the primary reward. Thus, elevating 5-HT activity within the nucleus accumbens antagonises the effects ofd-amphetamine on responding for CR within the nucleus accumbens. These results suggest that 5-HT within the nucleus accumbens may play an important role in mediating incentive motivation by modulating dopaminergic neurotransmission.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Section of Biopsychology, Clarke Institute of Psychiatry, 250 College Street, M5T 1R8, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    P. J. Fletcher

  2. Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    P. J. Fletcher

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Fletcher, P.J. Injection of 5-HT into the nucleus accumbens reduces the effects ofd-amphetamine on responding for conditioned reward. Psychopharmacology 126, 62–69 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02246412

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02246412

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