Potentiation of cocaine-primed reinstatement of drug seeking in female rats during estrus.

Rationale: Gender differences exist in the patterns of drug taking in cocaine addiction, suggesting that the propensity to relapse varies between men and women. Previous reports have shown sex differences in both cocaine-primed and conditioned-cued reinstatement of cocaine-seeking behavior, including recent evidence that the estrous cycle influences the level of conditioned-cued reinstatement. However, the influence of the estrous cycle on cocaine-primed reinstatement has not been examined.

Influence of sex and estrous cyclicity on conditioned cue-induced reinstatement of cocaine-seeking behavior in rats.

Rationale: Sex differences have been reported in physiological and behavioral responses to cocaine, but it is unclear whether sex differences exist in conditioned-cued relapse to cocaine seeking after prolonged abstinence. Furthermore, the role of estrous cyclicity in conditioned-cued relapse has not been investigated.

Objective: We assessed the influence of sex and estrous cyclicity on conditioned-cued reinstatement of drug-seeking behavior in Sprague-Dawley rats.

The role of the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, basolateral amygdala, and dorsal hippocampus in contextual reinstatement of cocaine seeking in rats.

The present study tested the hypothesis that separate neural substrates mediate cocaine relapse elicited by drug-associated contextual stimuli vs explicit conditioned stimuli (CSs) and cocaine. Specifically, we investigated the involvement of the dorsal hippocampus (DH), basolateral amygdala (BLA), and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) in contextual reinstatement of cocaine-seeking behavior and the involvement of the DH in explicit CS- and cocaine-induced reinstatement. Rats were trained to self-administer cocaine in a distinct context or in the presence of CSs paired explicitly with cocaine infusions.