Experiment: Intracranial Self Administration (SA)

Medial Prefrontal Cortex (mPFC), Nucleus Accumbens (NAc), Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA)

Cocaine self-administration into mPFC, but not into NAc or VTA. Attenuation by D2 antagonist Sulpiride.

Goeders and Smith (1983)
Cortical dopaminergic involvement in cocaine reinforcement. Science. 1983 Aug 19;221(4612):773-5. Abstract.

Nucleus Accumbens (NAc)

No CPP with microinjections of cocaine into NAc, but conditioned locomotor activity (CLA). In contrast, CPP with microinjection of d-amphetamine and with intraperitoneal administration of cocaine.

Hemby SE, Jones GH, Justice JB Jr, Neill DB
Conditioned locomotor activity but not conditioned place preference following intra-accumbens infusions of cocaine. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 1992;106(3):330-6. Abstract.

Ventral Pallidum (VP)

Reminds us that there is a dopaminergic VTA projection to the VP. 50 micrograms of cocaine but not 100 micrograms of procaine when injected into VP produces CPP.

Gong W, Neill D, Justice JB Jr
Conditioned place preference and locomotor activation produced by injection of psychostimulants into ventral pallidum. Brain Res. 1996 Jan 22;707(1):64-74. Abstract.