Cocaine-induced behavioral sensitization is not associated with loss of GABA-immunoreactive neurons in the amygdala
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Updated: Oct 23, 2026

Assessment of Cocaine-induced Behavioral Sensitization and Conditioned Place Preference in Mice
Published on: February 18, 2016
M A Lee1, J M Paris, K A Cunningham
1Department of Pharmacology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston 77550.
Abstract:
We investigated whether cocaine-induced behavioral sensitization (15 mg/kg, twice daily for 7 days) is associated with changes in gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurons in the lateral-basolateral amygdala of male Sprague-Dawley rats. The number of GABA-immunoreactive neurons in the amygdala did not differ between cocaine- and saline-treated rats. Although some aspects of this behavioral phenomenon parallel the kindling model of epilepsy, limbic alterations in GABA neurons do not appear to be associated with behavioral sensitization to cocaine.
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