BIOL 1F25 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Nacionalista Party, Transcription Factor, Learning
28 Mar 2016
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Document Summary
The link between learning and memory and drug addicion. Addict associates a cue with taking the drug. Memories of places / people (context cues) etc. can trigger relapses in cocaine use. Plays a role in abuse potenial. simuli associated with cocaine use can evoke cravings. Simuli associated with prior cocaine use have priming efect suggested to increase release in dopamine in nac in absence of cocaine. Classical condiioning: brain makes associaion between two unrelated simuli. Important area of brain involved in learning and memory: hippocampus. Hypothesis: learning and memory mechanisms play important roles in lasing alteraions induced by cocaine. The hippocampus has connecions with nac and prefrontal cortex (i. e. reward pathways). Ltp can also occur at glutamate synapses in nac. i. e. strengthening of connecions between hippocampus and reward pathway. Behavioural data from rats: simulaion of hippocampus can induce cocaine relapse. Cellular studies: cocaine administraion results in enhanced ltp in hippocampus. None (or very litle) dopamine transporter in this region.
