Inactivation of posterior but not anterior dorsomedial caudate-putamen impedes learning with self-administered nicotine stimulus in male rats.

The rodent caudate-putamen is a large heterogeneous neural structure with distinct anatomical connections that differ in their control of learning processes. Previous research suggests that the anterior and posterior dorsomedial caudate-putamen (a- and p-dmCPu) differentially regulate associative learning with a non-contingent nicotine stimulus. The current study used bilateral NMDA-induced excitotoxic lesions to the a-dmCPu and p-dmCPu to determine the functional involvement of a-dmCPu and p-dmCPu in appetitive learning with contingent nicotine stimulus.

Assessment of individual differences in response to acute bupropion or varenicline treatment using a long-access nicotine self-administration model and behavioral economics in female rats.

Bupropion and varenicline are widely prescribed pharmacological treatments for smoking cessation. These treatments are only marginally effective in clinical populations but most preclinical studies show that they are effective in decreasing self-administration in rats on a group level. The present study investigated individual differences in responding to bupropion or varenicline in a preclinical model of long-access to nicotine (0.

Individual Vulnerability to Stress Is Associated With Increased Demand for Intravenous Heroin Self-administration in Rats.

Opioid use is a widespread epidemic, and traumatic stress exposure is a critical risk factor in opioid use and relapse. There is a significant gap in our understanding of how stress contributes to heroin use, and there are limited studies investigating individual differences underlying stress reactivity and subsequent stress-induced heroin self-administration. We hypothesized that greater individual vulnerability to stress would predict higher demand for heroin self-administration in a within-subjects rodent model of stress and heroin use comorbidity.

Individual differences in responding to bupropion or varenicline in a preclinical model of nicotine self-administration vary according to individual demand for nicotine.

Bupropion and varenicline are the top two smoking cessation interventions that are marginally successful in increasing abstinence rates when compared to placebo. Although smokers vary in their history and pattern of tobacco use, there is a significant gap in addressing this individual variability with individually targeted treatments. The present study takes the initial step towards a better understanding of individual differences in treatment outcomes by assessing the effect of bupropion or varenicline on nicotine self-administration in rats.