Cocaine sensitization inhibits the hyperpolarization-activated cation current Ih and reduces cell size in dopamine neurons of the ventral tegmental area.

The progressive augmentation of motor activity that results from repeated cocaine administration is termed behavioral sensitization. This phenomenon is thought to be a critical component in compulsive drug taking and relapse. Still, the cellular mechanisms that underlie sensitization remain elusive. Cocaine abuse, nonetheless, is known to evoke neuroplastic adaptations in dopamine (DA) neurotransmission originating from the midbrain's ventral tegmental area (VTA). Here, we report that concomitant with the development of locomotor sensitization to cocaine the hyperpolarization-activated cation current (I(h)) amplitude is depressed by ∼40% in VTA DA cells. Such effect did not result from a negative shift in I(h) voltage dependence. Nonstationary fluctuation analysis indicates that this inhibition was caused by an ∼45% reduction in the number of h-channels with no change in their unitary properties. The cocaine-induced I(h) depression was accompanied by a reduction in cell capacitance of similar magnitude (∼33%), leaving h-current density unaltered. Two implications follow from these data. First, I(h) inhibition may contribute to cocaine addiction by increasing bursting probability in DA cells and this effect could be intensified by the decrease in cell capacitance. Second, the cocaine-induced diminution of DA cell capacitance may also lead to reward tolerance promoting drug-seeking behaviors.

Presynaptic inhibition of glutamate transmission by α2 receptors in the VTA.

The ventral tegmental area (VTA) forms part of the mesocorticolimbic system and plays a pivotal role in reward and reinforcing actions of drugs of abuse. Glutamate transmission within the VTA controls important aspects of goal-directed behavior and motivation. Noradrenergic receptors also present in the VTA have important functions in the modulation of neuronal activity. Here we studied the effects of α2 noradrenergic receptor activation in the alteration of glutamate neurotransmission in VTA dopaminergic neurons from male Sprague-Dawley rats. We used whole-cell patch-clamp recordings from putative VTA dopaminergic neurons and measured excitatory postsynaptic currents. Clonidine (40 µm) and UK 14,304 (40 µm), both α2 receptor agonists, reduced (approximately 40%) the amplitude of glutamate-induced excitatory postsynaptic currents. After clonidine administration, there was a dose-dependent reduction over the concentration range of 15-40 µm. Using yohimbine (20 µm) and two other α2 adrenergic receptor antagonists, idaxozan (40 µm) and atipemazole (20 µm), we demonstrated that the inhibitory action is specifically mediated by α2 receptors. Moreover, by inhibiting protein kinases with H-7 (75 µm), Rp-adenosine 3',5'-cyclic (11 µm) and chelerythrine (1 µm) it was shown that the clonidine-induced inhibition seems to involve a selective activation of the protein kinase C intracellular pathway. Increased paired-pulse ratios and changes in spontaneous and miniature excitatory postsynaptic current frequencies but not amplitudes indicated that the effect of the α2 agonist was presynaptically mediated. It is suggested that the suppression of glutamate excitatory inputs onto VTA dopaminergic neurons might be relevant in the regulation of reward and drug-seeking behaviors.

Alpha-1 adrenoreceptors modulate GABA release onto ventral tegmental area dopamine neurons.

The ventral tegmental area (VTA) plays an important role in reward and motivational processes involved in drug addiction. Previous studies have shown that alpha1-adrenoreceptors (α1-AR) are primarily found pre-synaptically at this area. We hypothesized that GABA released onto VTA-dopamine (DA) cells is modulated by pre-synaptic α1-AR. Recordings were obtained from putative VTA-DA cells of male Sprague-Dawley rats (28-50 days postnatal) using whole-cell voltage clamp technique. Phenylephrine (10 µM; α1-AR agonist) decreased the amplitude of GABAA receptor-mediated inhibitory postsynaptic currents (IPSCs) evoked by electrical stimulation of afferent fibers (n = 7; p < 0.05). Prazosin (1 µM, α1-AR antagonist), blocked this effect. Paired-pulse ratios were increased by phenylephrine application (n = 13; p < 0.05) indicating a presynaptic site of action. Spontaneous IPSCs frequency but not amplitude, were decreased in the presence of phenylephrine (n = 7; p < 0.05). However, frequency or amplitude of miniature IPSCs were not changed (n = 9; p > 0.05). Phenylephrine in low Ca(2+) (1 mM) medium decreased IPSC amplitude (n = 7; p < 0.05). Chelerythrine (a protein kinase C inhibitor) blocked the α1-AR action on IPSC amplitude (n = 6; p < 0.05). Phenylephrine failed to decrease IPSCs amplitude in the presence of paxilline, a BK channel blocker (n = 7; p < 0.05). Taken together, these results demonstrate that α1-ARs at presynaptic terminals can modulate GABA release onto VTA-DA cells. Drug-induced changes in α1-AR could contribute to the modifications occurring in the VTA during the addiction process.

Inhibition of Protein kinase Mzeta (PKMζ) in the mesolimbic system alters cocaine sensitization in rats.

Chronic cocaine use produces long-lasting changes in reward circuits that may underlie the transition from casual to compulsive patterns of drug use. Although strong neuroadaptations within the mesocorticolimbic system are known to occur, the specific role of these drug-induced plasticities on sensitization remains to be elucidated. Here we investigate whether PKMζ, a protein involved in maintaining long-term potentiation (LTP), plays a role in these cocaine-induced changes in synaptic strengthening. We performed whole-cell voltage clamp recordings of putative ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine (DA) cells 24 hours after five days of 15 mg/kg i.p. cocaine or isovolumetric saline injections. We observed that superfusion of 5µM ZIP (PKMζ inhibitory peptide) decreased AMPA currents and AMPA/NMDA ratios only in cocaine sensitized rats. In vivo ZIP microinfusions (10 nmol) into the VTA after cocaine sensitization decreased locomotor activity on a subsequent cocaine challenge only if given ZIP is given before the withdrawal period. On the other hand, ZIP microinfusions into the nucleus accumbens (NAc) core after a seven days withdrawal period disrupt the expression of locomotor sensitization. The present data provide a potentially relevant region, and time-specific PKMζ-dependent brain mechanism that enables sensitization. Our results support the vision that addiction involves a pathological learning process. They imply that if this synaptic strengthening is reversed, changes in the behavioral response may also be overturned.