Elsevier

Brain Research

Volume 403, Issue 1, 10 February 1987, Pages 147-150
Brain Research

Neurotensin self-injection in the ventral tegmental area

https://doi.org/10.1016/0006-8993(87)90134-XGet rights and content

Abstract

Earlier work with the conditioned place-preference paradigm suggested that neurotensin (NT) acts as a behavioral reinforcer when microinjected into the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of the midbrain. We report here that animals will perform an operant task to obtain microinfusions of NT into the VTA. Rats reliably pressed a lever to obtain NT infusions while neglecting an identical but inactive lever. Substitution of saline for NT initiated response extinction; following the reintroduction of NT, reliable responding resumed. These results extend earlier work suggesting that NT in the VTA can be a positive reinforcer.

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    This appears to be due to behavioural hyperactivation, which may correspond with the increase in extracellular dopamine measured in the NAc (Cador et al., 1986; Kalivas et al., 1983; Kalivas and Duffy, 1990; Patterson et al., 2015). Intra-VTA NTS is proposed to be rewarding as it supports self-administration (Glimcher et al., 1987), conditioned place preference (Rouibi et al., 2015) as well as LH self-stimulation reward (Kempadoo et al., 2013; Rompré and Gratton, 1993). Notably, the LHNTS to VTA projection is not the only source of NTS in the VTA.

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    Pharmacologic Nts activates VTA DA neurons (Legault et al., 2002; Seutin et al., 1989; Sotty et al., 2000, 1998; St-Gelais et al., 2004; Werkman et al., 2000), thereby increasing DA release in the NA (Kalivas et al., 1983; Kalivas and Duffy, 1990; Sotty et al., 2000, 1998; Steinberg et al., 1995) that can modify goal directed behaviors. Indeed, intra-VTA Nts has been shown to suppress homeostatic and motivated feeding (Cador et al., 1986; Kelley et al., 1989), increase locomotor activity (Cador et al., 1986; Elliott and Nemeroff, 1986; Feifel and Reza, 1999; Kalivas et al., 1983; Kalivas and Duffy, 1990; Kalivas et al., 1981; Panayi et al., 2005; Steinberg et al., 1994) and support self-administration (Glimcher et al., 1987; Kempadoo et al., 2013; Rompre and Gratton, 1993), conditioned place preference (CPP) (Glimcher et al., 1984; Rouibi et al., 2015) and locomotor sensitization similar to addictive drugs (Elliott and Nemeroff, 1986; Kalivas and Duffy, 1990; Kalivas and Taylor, 1985; Voyer et al., 2017). Intriguingly, many of these behavioral effects are specific to the VTA because Nts administration outside of the VTA elicits different effects.

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A portion of this work was presented at the Meeting of the Society for Neurosciences, 1983, abstract 35.6. The research was supported by PHS Grant MH-35740.

*

Present address: Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, U.S.A.

**

Present address: Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, Que., Canada.

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