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Heroin sensitization as mapped by c-Fos immunoreactivity in the rat striatum
Loredana D'Este1, Alessandra Scontrini, Arianna Casini
1Institute of Human Anatomy, I Faculty of Medicine, Via Borelli 50, 00161, Rome, Italy. loredana.deste@uniroma1.it
Abstract:
Immunohistochemistry was used to map the induction of c-Fos protein in the forebrain of rats treated with heroin. Acute injection of heroin to drug-naive rats caused significant induction of c-Fos protein in the nucleus accumbens shell, whereas the same dose of heroin given to drug-sensitized rats significantly increased c-Fos immunoreactivity in the dorsomedial caudate-putamen. These results show that the heroin-induced pattern of c-Fos protein in the rat striatum differs according to the rat's drug history. These findings may represent a neural correlate of the motor components of heroin sensitization.