Journal: Brain stimulation

Article Title: Vagus nerve stimulation during extinction learning reduces conditioned place preference and context-induced reinstatement of cocaine seeking.

doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2019.07.001

Figure Lengend Snippet: Fig. 1. VNS facilitates extinction of conditioned place preference. A) Illustration of the CPP apparatus, with the left and right compartments distinguished by grid vs. smooth floor and horizontally vs. vertically striped walls. B) Time spent on the cocaine-paired side during the baseline period, the conditioned preference test, the extinction test, and drug-primed reinstatement. Sham-treated animals showed increased preference for the cocaine-paired side compared to animals given VNS during (VNS in session) or shortly after (VNS after session) extinction sessions. C) The graph illustrates how the time spent in the drug-paired side (CSþ) and the saline-paired side (CS-) change over the course of the experiment for the three treatment groups. After conditioning, ani- mals in all groups have increased preference for the cocaine-paired side compared to the saline side. Extinction reduces this conditioned preference, but during drug- primed reinstatement only sham-treated animals have a preference for the cocaine- paired side. P values are * <0.05.

Article Snippet: Drug self-administration and extinction training One week after surgery, rats were trained in a single overnight session to self-administer food pellets on a fixed ratio 1 (FR1) schedule in an operant conditioning chamber (Med Associates, Saint Albans, VT).

Techniques: Conditioned Place Preference, Saline

Journal: The Journal of Neuroscience

Article Title: BDNF Signaling in the VTA Links the Drug-Dependent State to Drug Withdrawal Aversions

doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3776-13.2014

Figure Lengend Snippet: Effects of high and low doses of BDNF on 5 and 15 mg/kg morphine-conditioned place preferences in mice. a, Infusions of 0.025 μg BDNF (same dose used in rats by Vargas-Perez et al. (2009b)) or 0.25 μg BDNF (dose used by Koo et al. (2012)) in mouse VTA did not abolish 5 mg/kg morphine place preferences, but resulted in a switch to a DA-dependent motivational state wherein α-flupenthixol blocks the conditioned place preferences. b, Infusions of 0.25 μg BDNF in mouse VTA did not abolish 15 mg/kg morphine-conditioned place preferences, even when the duration of conditioning sessions was extended to 45 min to match the conditions used by Koo et al. (2009). c, Infusions of 0.25 μg BDNF in mouse VTA did not abolish 15 mg/kg morphine preferences even after using the same conditioned place preference paradigm and VTA coordinates used by Koo et al. (2012); *p values <0.05.

Article Snippet: The place conditioning apparatus (Med-Associates SOF-700RA-25) used consisted of a black compartment with metal rod floor, a white compartment with a wire mesh floor, and a gray compartment in the middle that contained a partition on both sides.

Techniques: Conditioned Place Preference

Journal: The Journal of Neuroscience

Article Title: BDNF Signaling in the VTA Links the Drug-Dependent State to Drug Withdrawal Aversions

doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3776-13.2014

Figure Lengend Snippet: Motivational effects of withdrawal in opiate-dependent animals after blocking BDNF function in the VTA. a, Knocking down TrkB in the VTA with LV-siRNAs did not affect spontaneous opiate somatic withdrawal signs. Both LV-siRNAs (n = 8) and LV-GFP (n = 8) animals show an increase in percentage abstinence scores over time after 16 h heroin administration with respect to saline control animals (n = 8; *p < 0.05). b, Opiate naive (n = 7) and dependent (n = 7) LV-siRNAs-treated animals display a reduction in low-frequency (22 kHz) s compared with opiate naive (n = 7) and dependent (n = 7) LV-GFP-treated animals (*p < 0.05) during naloxone-precipitated chronic opiate withdrawal during the course of a 10 min test session. c, Knocking down TrkB in the VTA with LV-siRNAs blocks the place aversion for 16 h of abstinence from morphine (3 mg/kg) in dependent rats (n = 8). In contrast, control opiate-dependent animals infected with LV-GFP (n = 8) show conditioned place aversions (*p < 0.05). d, Naloxone-conditioned (5 mg/kg) place aversions were blocked in LV-siRNAs-treated (n = 8) dependent animals, but not in LV-GFP-treated (n = 8) animals (*p < 0.05). e, Both LV-siRNAs (n = 8) and LV-GFP (n = 8)-infected animals display a conditioning place aversion to LiCl (5 mg/kg; *p < 0.05). Data represent the means ± SEM the absolute times spent in the previously saline and previously drug paired compartments.

Article Snippet: The place conditioning apparatus (Med-Associates SOF-700RA-25) used consisted of a black compartment with metal rod floor, a white compartment with a wire mesh floor, and a gray compartment in the middle that contained a partition on both sides.

Techniques: Blocking Assay, Saline, Control, Infection