Journal
NEURON
Volume 69, Issue 4, Pages 650-663Publisher
CELL PRESS
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2011.01.017
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Funding
- NIDA NIH HHS [P01 DA008227, P01 DA008227-20] Funding Source: Medline
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Addictive drugs have in common that they target the mesocorticolimbic dopamine (DA) system. This system originates in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and projects mainly to the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and prefrontal cortex (PFC). Here, we review the effects that such drugs leave on glutamatergic and GABAergic synaptic transmission in these three brain areas. We refer to these changes as drug-evoked synaptic plasticity, which outlasts the presence of the drug in the brain and contributes to the reorganization of neural circuits. While in most cases these early changes are not sufficient to induce the disease, with repetitive drug exposure, they may add up and contribute to addictive behavior.
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