Changes in phosphorylation of CREB, ERK, and c-fos induction in rat ventral tegmental area, hippocampus and prefrontal cortex after conditioned place preference induced by chemical stimulation of lateral hypothalamus.

Experimental evidence indicates that chemical stimulation of lateral hypothalamus (LH) by carbachol can produce conditioned place preference (CPP) in rats. Several lines of evidence have shown that cAMP-response element binding protein (CREB), extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), and c-fos have pivotal role in CPP induced by drugs of abuse, such as morphine, cocaine, nicotine, and alcohol. Therefore, in the present study, we investigated the changes in phosphorylated-CREB (p-CREB) and -ERK (p-ERK), and c-fos induction within ventral tegmental area (VTA), hippocampus and prefrontal cortex (PFC) after the acquisition of CPP induced by intra-LH administration of carbachol.