Several recent studies have indicated the involvement of calcium-dependent mechanisms, in particular the abundant calcium-activated kinase, calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinase II (CaMKII), in behaviors associated with nicotine dependence in mice. Behavioral and biochemical studies have shown that CaMKII is involved in acute and chronic nicotine behaviors and nicotine withdrawal; however, evidence of a role for CaMKII in nicotine reward is lacking. Thus, the goal of the current study was to examine the role of CaMKII in nicotine reward. Using pharmacological and genetic tools, we tested nicotine conditioned place preference (CPP) in C57Bl/6 mice after administration of CaMKII antagonists and in α-CaMKII wild-type (+/+) and heterozygote (±) mice. CaMKII antagonists blocked expression of nicotine CPP, and the preference score was significantly reduced in α-CaMKII ± mice compared with their +/+ counterparts. Further, we assessed CaMKII activity in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), nucleus accumbens (NAc), prefrontal cortex, and hippocampus after nicotine CPP and found significant increases in CaMKII activity in the mouse VTA and NAc that were blocked by CaMKII antagonists. The findings from this study show that CaMKII mediates nicotine reward and suggest that increases in CaMKII activity in the VTA and NAc are relevant to nicotine reward behaviors.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/FBP.0000000000000189 | DOI Listing |
Neurobiol Learn Mem
December 2024
Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin TX 78712, United States; Department of Neurology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin TX 78712, United States; Waggoner Center for Alcohol and Addiction Research, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin TX 78712, United States. Electronic address:
The ability to choose between options that differ in their risks and rewards depends on brain regions within the mesocorticolimbic circuit and regulation of their activity by neurotransmitter systems. Dopamine neurotransmission in particular plays a critical role in modulating such risk-taking behavior; however, the contribution of other major modulatory neurotransmitters, such as acetylcholine, is not as well-defined, especially for decision making in which the risk associated with more rewarding outcomes involves adverse consequences. Consequently, the goal of the current experiments was to examine how cholinergic signaling influences decision making involving risk of explicit punishment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Neurochem
January 2025
College of Pharmacy, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, Republic of Korea.
The α4β2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR), an ionophore, has been suggested to signal through metabotropic pathways and interact with other receptor families, such as dopamine receptors. In this study, the interaction between α4β2 nAChR and dopamine receptors was investigated through in vivo and in vitro studies. Nicotine exposure in adolescent rats is known to induce a sustained increase in nicotine's rewarding effects which was assessed by conditioned place preference (CPP) assay.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFiScience
November 2024
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy.
Biomedicines
November 2024
Department of Functional Biology and Health Sciences, Faculty of Biology, University of Vigo, Campus As Lagoas-Marcosende, 36310 Vigo, Spain.
Background: Studies that assess the effects of the interaction of psychoactive substances on dopamine release, the key neurotransmitter in the neurochemical and behavioral effects related to drug consumption, are crucial to understand both their roles and the dysfunctions they produce in the central nervous system.
Objective: We evaluated the effects of individual and combined administration of the three most widely consumed psychoactive substances in the world, ethanol, caffeine, and nicotine, on dopaminergic neurotransmission in three brain regions of rats related to addiction: the prefrontal cortex (PFC), the nucleus accumbens (NAcc), and the dorsal striatum.
Methods: The dopamine levels were measured in vivo by cerebral microdialysis associated with HPLC-ED.
Nicotine Tob Res
November 2024
Department of Addictive Behaviour and Addiction Medicine, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
Introduction: Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are considered a potential aid for smoking cessation. This study investigates the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the motivational properties of e-cigarettes compared to tobacco cigarettes and provides insights into their addictive potential and implications for smoking cessation.
Methods: The study included 47 daily e-cigarette users, the majority of whom were former smokers (n=43), and 28 nicotine-naïve participants as controls.
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