Prelimbic medial prefrontal cortex has bidirectional control over the expression of behavioral sensitization to 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA; ecstasy) depending on the context of drug administration.

Behavioral sensitization to MDMA is observed in the vast majority of rats if tested in the same environment in which previous MDMA exposure occurred, but not if tested in a novel, unpaired context. Previous studies have revealed a critical role for the prelimbic region of medial prefrontal cortex (PL) in the expression of sensitization to MDMA, but these studies assessed sensitization only in MDMA-paired environments. Given that PL activity can both facilitate and suppress behavior depending on context, we tested the hypothesis that PL has bidirectional control over the expression of locomotor sensitization to MDMA depending on the context of drug administration.

Behavioral sensitization to 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine is long-lasting and modulated by the context of drug administration.

To begin to characterize the temporal profile of behavioral sensitization to the amphetamine derivative 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), rats were treated with either saline or MDMA (5.0 mg/kg) twice daily for 5 days, followed by a challenge injection of MDMA (2.5 mg/kg) either 15 or 100 days later.