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Involvement of α1-adrenoceptors in conditioned place preference supported by nicotine in rats

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Abstract

Rationale

The noradrenergic system might be a critical mediator of psychostimulants and opiates hedonic value.

Objectives

The objective of this study is to evaluate the involvement of α1-adrenoceptors (α1-ARs) in nicotine incentive learning.

Materials and methods

Rats, subjected to an unbiased conditioned place preference (CPP) procedure, received eight 30-min alternating nicotine (0.06 mg/kg) and saline pairings with distinct floor textures. The α1-AR antagonist, prazosin (0.125, 0.25, 0.5, or 1 mg/kg), was administered 30 min before nicotine pairings (acquisition) or one of the two 20-min test sessions conducted 24 h and 3 weeks after conditioning (expression).

Results

Pre-pairing injections of prazosin (0.5–1 mg/kg) prevented the acquisition of nicotine-CPP. On pre-test administration, prazosin (0.5 mg/kg) abolished the short-term expression of nicotine-CPP; whereas, none of the tested doses impaired its long-term expression. During a drug-free 3-week test session, nicotine-CPP was also weakened in rats given prazosin (0.5 mg/kg) before the 24-h test, while nicotine-CPP was reduced neither in animals given prazosin immediately after the first test session nor in those not subjected to the 24-h test.

Conclusions

The activation of α1-ARs is one of the mechanisms that code for the incentive motivational value of nicotine. It participates also in the short-term, but not the long-term, control of behavior by nicotine-paired stimuli. The latter effect does not result from disruption by prazosin of either memory for the nicotine-cue association or reconsolidation processes at recall. Thus, differences exist in the neurobiological mechanisms that contribute to the incentive motivational value of nicotine and the short- and long-term “memory” of the incentive salience acquired by nicotine-paired cues.

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Acknowledgements

This study has been supported by grants from INSERM and University Pierre et Marie Curie. Benoît Forget was the recipient of grants from the “Société de Tabacologie” and the “Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale”. We gratefully acknowledge the technical assistance of Sandrine Barthélémy. The authors warmly thank Dr. Hans C. Neijt for his generous gift of the SuperG Software for image analysis. Experiments were performed in agreement with the institutional guidelines for use of animals and their care, in compliance with national and international laws and policies (Council directive no. 87-848, October 19, 1987, Ministère de l’Agriculture et de la Forêt, Service Vétérinaire de la Santé et de la Protection Animale, permissions no. 75-116 to MH and 75-118 to MHT).

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  1. Benoît Forget

    Present address: Translational Addiction Research Laboratory, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

Authors and Affiliations

  1. INSERM, U677, Paris, F-75013, France;

    Benoît Forget, Michel Hamon & Marie-Hélène Thiébot

  2. University Pierre et Marie Curie, IFR 70 Neurosciences, Paris, F-75013, France;

    Benoît Forget, Michel Hamon & Marie-Hélène Thiébot

  3. UMR677 INSERM/UPMC, Faculté de Médecine Pierre et Marie Curie, Site Pitié-Salpêtrière, 91 Boulevard de l’Hôpital, 75634, Paris Cedex 13, France

    Marie-Hélène Thiébot

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  1. Benoît Forget
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Correspondence to Marie-Hélène Thiébot.

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Forget, B., Hamon, M. & Thiébot, MH. Involvement of α1-adrenoceptors in conditioned place preference supported by nicotine in rats. Psychopharmacology 205, 503–515 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-009-1559-7

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