Editor's Summary
12 June 2008
Appetite and drug addiction
Disruptions in dopamine signalling have been implicated in psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia and drug addiction. The phosphoprotein DARPP-32 is a prominent mediator of dopamine signalling in the striatum, a part of the brain where dopaminergic activation has been linked to reward and learning. Now a novel signal transduction cascade involving nuclear accumulation of DARPP-32 has been discovered, induced by both drugs of abuse and natural stimuli such as food. Disruption of this cascade alters the behavioural effects of the drugs and decreases motivation for food, suggesting a role for this mechanism in the in vivo actions of dopamine signalling.
Article: A phosphatase cascade by which rewarding stimuli control nucleosomal response
Alexandre Stipanovich, Emmanuel Valjent, Miriam Matamales, Akinori Nishi, Jung-Hyuck Ahn, Matthieu Maroteaux, Jesus Bertran-Gonzalez, Karen Brami-Cherrier, Hervé Enslen, Anne-Gaëlle Corbillé, Odile Filhol, Angus C. Nairn, Paul Greengard, Denis Hervé & Jean-Antoine Girault
doi:10.1038/nature06994
Abstract | Full Text | PDF (1,219K) | Supplementary information
