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Regulation of the immediate-early genes arc and zif268 in a mouse operant model of cocaine seeking reinstatement

  • Basic Neurosciences, Genetics and Immunology - Original Article
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Abstract

Reinstatement of extinguished operant responding for drug is an appropriate model of relapse to drug abuse. Due to the difficulty of implementing in mice the procedure of instrumental intravenous self-administration, mechanisms of reinstatement have so far been studied almost exclusively in rats. A mouse model of reinstatement of cocaine seeking has recently been characterized (Soria et al. 2008). The aim of the present study was to assess regional brain activation, as measured by induction of the immediate early genes (IEG) arc and zif268, during priming- or cue-elicited reinstatement of cocaine seeking using this new mouse model and the in situ hybridization technique. We have demonstrated that cue-elicited reinstatement of cocaine seeking was associated with induction of the IEG in the medial prefrontal cortex (prelimbic and infralimbic) and basolateral amygdala. Priming-induced reinstatement produced a more widespread up-regulation of those genes in forebrain regions including medial prefrontal, orbitofrontal and motor cortex, dorsal striatum and basolateral amygdala. These patterns of IEG expression are in agreement with previous results obtained in rats and thus indicate that the new mouse model of reinstatement is functionally equivalent to rat models. That comparability adds to the usefulness of the mouse model as a tool for addressing neurobiological mechanisms of addiction.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the EU grant LSHM-CT-2007-037669 (PHECOMP), the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education subsidiary grant No. 478/6. PR UE/2007/7, statutory funds from the Institute of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Sciences, the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (#SAF 2007-64062), the Catalan Government (S6R 2009-00131) and the ICREA Foundation (ICREA-Academia 2008).

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  1. Guadalupe Soria

    Present address: Institute for Biomedical Research (IIBB-CSIC), Experimental MRI Unit (IDIBAPS), Rosselló 161, 08036, Barcelona, Spain

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular Neuropharmacology, Institute of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Smętna 12, 31-343, Kraków, Poland

    Barbara Ziółkowska, Michał Kiełbiński, Agnieszka Gieryk & Ryszard Przewłocki

  2. Laboratorio de Neurofarmacología, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Parc de Recerca Biomèdica de Barcelona, C/Dr. Aiguader 88, 08003, Barcelona, Spain

    Guadalupe Soria & Rafael Maldonado

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  1. Barbara Ziółkowska
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Correspondence to Ryszard Przewłocki.

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Ziółkowska, B., Kiełbiński, M., Gieryk, A. et al. Regulation of the immediate-early genes arc and zif268 in a mouse operant model of cocaine seeking reinstatement. J Neural Transm 118, 877–887 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-011-0583-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-011-0583-z

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