CRF antagonism within the ventral tegmental area but not the extended amygdala attenuates the anxiogenic effects of cocaine in rats.

In addition to its initial rewarding effects, cocaine has been shown to produce profound negative/anxiogenic actions. Recent work on the anxiogenic effects of cocaine has examined the role of corticotropin releasing factor (CRF), with particular attention paid to the CRF cell bodies resident to the extended amygdala (i.e.

Noradrenergic β-receptor antagonism within the central nucleus of the amygdala or bed nucleus of the stria terminalis attenuates the negative/anxiogenic effects of cocaine.

Cocaine has been shown to produce both initial rewarding and delayed anxiogenic effects. Although the neurobiology of cocaine's rewarding effects has been well studied, the mechanisms underlying its anxiogenic effects remain unclear. We used two behavioral assays to study these opposing actions of cocaine: a runway self-administration test and a modified place conditioning test.