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Tribute to: Self-administered nicotine activates the mesolimbic dopamine system through the ventral tegmental area [William Corrigall, Kathleen Coen and Laurel Adamson, Brain Res. 653 (1994) 278–284]
- Source :
- Brain Research. 1645:61-64
- Publication Year :
- 2016
- Publisher :
- Elsevier BV, 2016.
-
Abstract
- In this paper, Dr. Corrigall and collaborators described elegant experiments designed to elucidate the neurobiology of nicotine reinforcement. The nicotinic receptor antagonist dihydro-β-erythroidine (DHβE) was infused in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) or nucleus accumbens (NAC) of rats trained to self-administer nicotine intravenously. Additionally, DHβE was infused in the VTA of rats trained to self-administer food or cocaine, and nicotine self-administration was assessed in rats with lesions to the peduculopontine tegmental nucleus (PPT). A number of key themes emerged from this fundamental study that remain relevant today. The primary finding was that infusions of DHβE in the VTA, but not in the NAC, lowered nicotine self-administration, suggesting that nicotinic receptors in VTA are involved in the reinforcing action of nicotine. This conclusion has been confirmed by subsequent findings, and the nature of the nicotinic receptors has also been elucidated. The authors also reported that DHβE in the VTA had no effect on food or cocaine self-administration, and that lesions to the PPT did not alter nicotine self-administration. Since this initial investigation, the question of whether nicotinic receptors in the VTA are necessary for the reinforcing action of other stimuli, and by which mechanisms, has been extensively explored. Similarly, many groups have further investigated the role of mesopontine cholinergic nuclei in reinforcement. This paper not only contributed in important ways to our understanding of the neurochemical basis of nicotine reinforcement, but was also a key catalyst that gave rise to several research themes central to the neuropharmacology of substance abuse. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled SI:50th Anniversary Issue.
- Subjects :
- 0301 basic medicine
Nicotine
Self Administration
Nicotinic Antagonists
Receptors, Nicotinic
Nucleus accumbens
Nucleus Accumbens
03 medical and health sciences
0302 clinical medicine
Dopamine
medicine
Animals
Humans
Nicotinic Antagonist
Molecular Biology
Neuropharmacology
Mesopontine
Dopaminergic Neurons
General Neuroscience
Ventral Tegmental Area
Neurosciences
Dihydro-beta-Erythroidine
History, 20th Century
Rats
Ventral tegmental area
030104 developmental biology
medicine.anatomical_structure
Nicotinic agonist
Neurology (clinical)
Psychology
Reinforcement, Psychology
Neuroscience
030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Developmental Biology
medicine.drug
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 00068993
- Volume :
- 1645
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Brain Research
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....719767bbcf450aa13a52a0f23d24a395