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Self-administration enhances excitatory synaptic transmission in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis

Nature Neuroscience volume 8, pages 413–414 (2005)Cite this article

Abstract

Understanding the neurobiology of motivation might help in reducing compulsive behaviors such as drug addiction or eating disorders. This study shows that excitatory synaptic transmission was enhanced in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis of rats that performed an operant task to obtain cocaine or palatable food. There was no effect when cocaine or food was delivered passively, suggesting that synaptic plasticity in this area is involved in reward-seeking behaviors.

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Figure 1: Self-administration of cocaine or palatable food increased the AMPA/NMDA ratio in the vlBNST.
Figure 2: The increase in AMPA/NMDA ratio was independent of the amount of cocaine self-administered or food self-delivered.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Vollum Institute and Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, 97239, Oregon, USA

    Eric C Dumont, Gregory P Mark, Sarah Mader & John T Williams

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  1. Eric C Dumont
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  2. Gregory P Mark
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  3. Sarah Mader
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  4. John T Williams
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Correspondence to John T Williams.

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Dumont, E., Mark, G., Mader, S. et al. Self-administration enhances excitatory synaptic transmission in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis. Nat Neurosci 8, 413–414 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1414

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