CART peptides as modulators of dopamine and psychostimulants and interactions with the mesolimbic dopaminergic system
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Updated: Jul 11, 2026

Comprehensive Profiling of Dopamine Regulation in Substantia Nigra and Ventral Tegmental Area
Published on: August 10, 2012
George W Hubert1, Douglas C Jones, Mark C Moffett
1Division of Neuroscience, The Yerkes National Primate Research Center of Emory University, 954 Gatewood Road, NE, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA. ghubert@emory.edu
Abstract:
Cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) peptides (CART 55-102 and CART 62-102) are peptidergic neurotransmitters that are widely but specifically distributed throughout the brain, gut and other parts of the body. They are found in many brain regions associated with drug addiction including the nucleus accumbens, ventral tegmental area and ventral pallidum. Injections of CART 55-102 into the nucleus accumbens have no effect on basal locomotor activity. However, an injection of CART just before an i.p. injection of cocaine reduces the locomotor activating effects of cocaine. These and other data suggest that CART in the accumbens blunts the effects of cocaine. A hypothesis is that CART is homeostatic in the accumbens and tends to oppose large increases in dopamine signaling. These actions would therefore be able to regulate the effects of some abused drugs such as the psychostimulants.
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