The propensity for drug relapse has been associated with cognitive impairments in the prefrontal cortex. Here, the authors examined changes in synaptic plasticity during relapse in a rat model of heroin addiction. They found that there was an increase in the long-term potentiation-like synaptic strength of prefrontal projection neurons that project to the nucleus accumbens, and that this increase was dependent on the recruitment of NR2B-containing NMDA receptors to the cell surface. Furthermore, they found that treatment of addicted rats with the NMDA receptor inhibitor ifenprodil prevented heroin relapse. These findings suggest that NR2B-containing NMDA receptors could represent a novel therapeutic target for addiction.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER
Shen, H. et al. Heroin relapse requires long-term potentiation-like plasticity mediated by NMDA2b-containing receptors. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 108, 19407–19412 (2011)Article
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Flight, M. NR2B — a target for preventing drug relapse?. Nat Rev Neurosci 13, 2 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3162
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3162