Journal
EUROPEAN NEUROPSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY
Volume 16, Issue 5, Pages 329-339Publisher
ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2005.10.002
Keywords
cocaine; dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA); neurosteroids; self-administration; cocaine seeking behavior
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The aim of this study was to determine the possible involvement of the neurosteroid dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) in cocaine-seeking behavior in a self-administration model in rats. DHEA pretreatment (continued thereafter concomitantly with cocaine self-administration) attenuated cocaine-seeking behavior and elevated the levels of dopamine and serotonin in several brain regions relevant to cocaine addiction. Chronic cocaine self-administration induced elevation in brain DHEA, its sulfate ester, DHEAS, and pregnenolone. The increased brain DHEA following cocaine self-administration may serve as a compensatory protective mechanism geared to attenuate the craving for cocaine. Such anti-craving activity is further enhanced by DHEA treatment before and during cocaine self-administration. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. and ECNP. All rights reserved.
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