Addictive drugs such as cocaine induce synaptic plasticity in the ventral tegmental area and its projection areas, which may represent the cellular correlate of an addiction trace. Cocaine induces changes in excitatory transmission primarily in the VTA, which persists for days after a single exposure. These initial alterations in synaptic transmission represent a metaplasticity that is permissi...

Nicotine from smoking tobacco produces one of the most common forms of addictive behavior and has major societal and health consequences. It is known that nicotine triggers tobacco addiction by activating nicotine acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) in the midbrain dopaminergic reward system, primarily via the ventral tegmental area. Heterogeneity of cell populations in the region has made it diff...

Cue-induced craving is not easily reduced by an extinction or exposure procedure and may constitute an important route toward relapse in addictive behavior after treatment. In the present study, we investigated the effectiveness of counterconditioning as an alternative procedure to reduce cue-induced craving, in a nonclinical population. We found that a cue, initially paired with chocolate cons...

Stimulation of dopamine D1 receptors has profound effects on addictive behavior, movement control, and working memory. Many of these functions depend on dopaminergic systems in the striatum and D1-D2 dopamine receptor synergies have been implicated as well. We show here that deletion of the D1 dopamine receptor produces a neural phenotype in which amphetamine and cocaine, two addictive psychomo...