Addiction and synaptic plasticity in the nucleus accumbens

FERNANDO KASANETZ; SUSANA MATO; MARJA SEPERS; OLIVIER J. MANZONI

The Nucleus Accumbens: Neurotransmitters & Related Behaviours

Research Signpost

Lugar: Kerala; Año: 2008; p. 269 - 296

Neuronal networks and synaptic connections arecontinuously refined and modified throughout life.Addiction is widely considered as a disease ofsynaptic transmission and plasticity in brains areasinvolved in learning, memory and reward. Addictivedrugs interact with several synaptic components of themesocorticolimbic system. In particular, addictivedrugs hijack natural neurotransmitter systems, therebycorrupting the induction, expression and regulation ofsynaptic plasticity. Recently the excitatory glutamatergicprojections from the prefrontal cortex to the nucleus accumbens have gained special attention, since alteration at these synapsesmay mediate drug-induced pathological behaviors. In the present chapter, wewill review recent evidences showing the role of dopamine, glutamate andcannabinoid receptors in controlling synaptic function and plasticity in thenucleus accumbens.