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Updated: Aug 8, 2026

Using Optogenetics to Reverse Neuroplasticity and Inhibit Cocaine Seeking in Rats
Published on: October 5, 2021
Cocaine self-administration selectively abolishes LTD in the core of the nucleus accumbens
Miquel Martin1, Billy T Chen, F Woodward Hopf
1Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center, 5858 Horton Street, Suite 200, Emeryville, California 94608, USA.
Abstract:
The core and shell of the nucleus accumbens have critical, differential roles in drug-dependent behaviors. Here we show that operant cocaine self-administration inhibits long-term depression (LTD) in both structures after 1 d of abstinence. However, after 21 d of abstinence, LTD was abolished exclusively in the nucleus accumbens core of cocaine self-administering rats, suggesting that voluntary cocaine self-administration induced long-lasting neuroadaptations in the core that could underlie drug-seeking behavior and relapse.
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