Cognition, Behavior, and Memory
Author: VERONICA PASTOR PASTOR | email: verpastor@fmed.uba.ar
Verónica Pastor 1°, Juliana F Dalto 1°, Marta C Antonelli 1°, Jorge H Medina 1°
1° CONICET-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Biología Celular y Neurociencia Prof. Eduardo De Robertis (IBCN), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Neuromodulation of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is essential for cortical control of behaviors induced by appetitive stimuli, such as cue-induced seeking behavior after the formation of drug-context associative memories. We have recently reported that the antagonism of mPFC alpha 7 nicotinic receptors (nAChRs) by methyllycaconitine (MLA) blocked cue-induced cocaine memory retrieval in a non-transient manner. However, the interaction between modulatory systems in the mPFC and their role in memory processing is a question which remains unanswered. Previous work showed that the activation of alpha 7 nAChRs in the mPFC increases dopamine release and that dopamine signaling through D1 receptors (D1R) is necessary for cocaine memory retrieval. Thus, we hypothesized that cholinergic signaling through alpha 7 nAChRs is needed in the mPFC to allow cue-induced cocaine memory retrieval by interacting with dopaminergic D1R activation. Using pharmacologic and behavioral techniques we demonstrate that D1R activation reversed MLA-induced blockade of cocaine CPP retrieval. Moreover, the modulatory role of D1R was evident only in the presence of nAChRs antagonism. These results suggest that alpha 7 nAChRs and D1R signaling interact in the mPFC for allowing cue-induced cocaine memory retrieval. Acknowledgements: International Society for Neurochemistry, CAEN grant (VP)