A sex-specific effect of M muscarinic cholinergic autoreceptor deletion on locomotor stimulation by cocaine and scopolamine.

Objective: Acetylcholine modulates the activity of the direct and indirect pathways within the striatum through interaction with muscarinic M and M receptors. M receptors are uniquely positioned to regulate plasticity within the direct pathway and play a substantial role in reward and addiction-related behaviors. However, the role of M receptors on cholinergic neurons has been less explored.

Effects of muscarinic M receptor stimulation on reinforcing and neurochemical effects of cocaine in rats.

Cocaine addiction is a chronic illness characterized by maladaptive drug-induced neuroplastic changes that confer lasting vulnerability to relapse. Over several weeks we observed the effects of the M receptor-selective agonist VU0364572 in adult male rats that self-administer cocaine in a cocaine vs. food choice procedure.