Nicotine-induced dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens is inhibited by the novel AMPA antagonist ZK200775 and the NMDA antagonist CGP39551.

Rationale: Accumulated data suggest that N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors are involved in the reinforcing properties of nicotine. However, less is known about the role of alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazoleproprionate (AMPA) receptors in this context.

Objectives: To study the effect of the novel systemically administered AMPA receptor antagonist ZK200775 ([1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-7-morpholinyl-2,3-dioxo-6-(fluoromethyl) quinoxalin-1-yl] methylphosphonate) on nicotine-induced dopamine (DA) release in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) and nicotine-stimulated locomotor activity (LMA) and particularly the relative role of NMDA and AMPA receptors in nicotine-stimulated DA release and LMA.