Opposing roles of rapid dopamine signaling across the rostral-caudal axis of the nucleus accumbens shell in drug-induced negative affect

摘要

BackgroundNegative reinforcement theories of drug addiction posit that addicts use drugs to alleviate negative mood states. In a preclinical model developed in our laboratory, rats exhibit negative affect to a normally rewarding taste cue when it predicts impending but delayed cocaine. The emergence of this state is accompanied by a reduction in dopamine concentration in the rostral nucleus accumbens (NAc) shell. However, the rostral and caudal regions of the shell have been implicated in promoting opposing appetitive and aversive states, respectively. Here, we tested whether dopamine transmission along the rostral-caudal axis of the shell plays differential roles in the emergence of drug-induced negative affect.