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Dopamine D4 receptor (D4R) deletion in mice does not affect operant responding for food or cocaine

Panayotis K Thanos1, Rahila Habibi, Michael Michaelides

  • 1Laboratory of Neuroimaging, NIAAA, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA. thanos@bnl.gov

Behavioural Brain Research
|October 27, 2009
PubMed

Insights

The dopamine D4 receptor (D4R) does not appear to influence behaviors related to food or cocaine self-administration. Studies using D4R knockout mice showed no changes in operant responding for these rewards.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Genetics
  • Behavioral Science

Background:

  • The dopamine D4 receptor (D4R) is implicated in various brain functions.
  • Understanding D4R's role in reward-seeking behavior is crucial for addiction research.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the genetic contribution of the dopamine D4 receptor (D4R) in mediating self-administration of food and cocaine.
  • To determine if D4R genetic variations affect operant response behaviors.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized D4R knockout (D4R(-/-)), heterozygous (D4R(+/-)), and wild-type (D4R(+/+)) mice.
  • Assessed operant responding for food pellets and intravenous cocaine administration.

Main Results:

  • No significant differences in operant responding for food pellets were observed between D4R knockout, heterozygous, and wild-type mice.
  • No significant differences in operant responding for intravenous cocaine were observed between D4R knockout, heterozygous, and wild-type mice.

Conclusions:

  • The dopamine D4 receptor (D4R) is not directly involved in mediating operant response behaviors for food.
  • The dopamine D4 receptor (D4R) is not directly involved in mediating operant response behaviors for cocaine self-administration.

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