The nucleus accumbens is a major input structure of the basal ganglia and integrates
information from cortical and limbic structures to mediate goal-directed behaviors. Chronic …

Chronic use of addictive drugs produces enduring neuroadaptations in the corticostriatal
glutamatergic brain circuitry. The nucleus accumbens (NAc), which integrates cortical …

It is widely accepted that D1 dopamine receptor–expressing striatal neurons convey their
information directly to the output nuclei of the basal ganglia, whereas D2-expressing neurons …

Inhibitory optogenetics was used to examine the roles of the prelimbic cortex ( PL ), the nucleus
accumbens core ( NAcore ) and the PL projections to the NAcore in the reinstatement of …

The ventral pallidum (VP) is central to the reinforcing effects across a variety of drugs and
relapse to drug seeking. Emerging studies from animal models of reinstatement reveal a …

Nicotine abuse and addiction is a major health liability. Nicotine, an active alkaloid in
tobacco, is self-administered by animals and produces cellular adaptations in brain regions …

Cocaine addiction is characterized by long-lasting vulnerability to relapse arising because
neutral environmental stimuli become associated with drug use and then act as cues that …

BACKGROUND: Relapse to cocaine seeking has been linked with low glutamate in the nucleus
accumbens core (NAcore) causing potentiation of synaptic glutamate transmission from …

Relapse to cocaine use necessitates remodeling excitatory synapses in the nucleus accumbens
and synaptic reorganization requires matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) degradation of …

… hyperpolarization for 20 min, and when the light was extinguished the membrane potential
immediately rose to baseline (MT Stefanik and YM Kupchik, unpublished observations). …