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Facilitation of conditioned taste aversion learning by systemic amphetamine: role of nucleus accumbens shell dopamine D 1 receptors
Author(s) -
Fenu Sandro,
Di Chiara Gaetano
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
european journal of neuroscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.346
H-Index - 206
eISSN - 1460-9568
pISSN - 0953-816X
DOI - 10.1046/j.1460-9568.2003.02899.x
Subject(s) - nucleus accumbens , taste aversion , amphetamine , chemistry , dopamine , pharmacology , sucrose , saccharin , taste , lithium chloride , endocrinology , psychology , medicine , neuroscience , biochemistry , organic chemistry
The role of dopamine (DA) in associative learning was studied in a conditioned taste aversion (CTA) paradigm with sucrose as the conditioned stimulus (CS) and intraperitoneal lithium chloride as the unconditioned stimulus (US). Drinking on trial of a 15% sucrose solution followed 1 h later by lithium chloride (20 or 40 mg/kg i.p.) resulted in mild CTA, as shown by reduction of drinking of the sucrose solution 24 h later. Amphetamine sulphate (0.125, 0.25, 0.50 and 1.0 mg/kg s.c.), administered on trial 5 min after sucrose drinking, facilitated CTA with maximal effects at 0.25 mg/kg s.c. Amphetamine given in the absence of lithium or 45 min after sucrose did not affect sucrose intake. The DA D 1 receptor antagonist SCH 39166, administered before amphetamine either systemically (0.0125 mg/kg s.c.) or in the nucleus accumbens shell (NAc; 0.025 µg/µL on each side) prevented the facilitation of CTA induced by amphetamine. It is concluded that amphetamine facilitates CTA learning by strengthening the consolidation of gustatory short‐term memory via D 1 receptors of the NAc shell.