An essential role for ΔFosB in the nucleus accumbens in morphine action

The transcription factor Delta FosB is induced in the nucleus accumbens ( NAc) and dorsal striatum by the repeated administration of drugs of abuse. Here, we investigated the role of DFosB in the NAc in behavioral responses to opiates. We achieved overexpression of DFosB by using a bitransgenic mouse line that inducibly expresses the protein in the NAc and dorsal striatum and by using viral-mediated gene transfer to specifically express the protein in the NAc. DFosB overexpression in the NAc increased the sensitivity of the mice to the rewarding effects of morphine and led to exacerbated physical dependence, but also reduced their sensitivity to the analgesic effects of morphine and led to faster development of analgesic tolerance. The opioid peptide dynorphin seemed to be one target through which DFosB produced this behavioral phenotype. Together, these experiments demonstrated that DFosB in the NAc, partly through the repression of dynorphin expression, mediates several major features of opiate addiction.