Effect Of Drugs of Abuse On Synaptic Transmission In Nucleus Accumbens

丘脑核（NAc）代表了几类滥用药物的奖励和成瘾特性的关键部位。因此，有必要了解滥用药物如大麻，可卡因，阿片类药物和设计药物对该系统生理学的作用，以及了解与NAc连接的重要脑回路。此外，这个脑核团被认为是行为动机方面的中介。 由于这个原因，NAc与各种精神疾病有关，这些精神疾病涉及情绪和动机的改变，以及药物成瘾的过程。 NAc中型棘状GABA能输出神经元（MSN）接受来自其他内在MSN的神经支配，以及来自外在来源的GABA能神经支配。MSNs上的GABA能和多巴胺能突触都受到滥用药物的抑制，这表明这种作用可能有助于它们的奖励特性。 此外，已知滥用药物会增加NAc中多巴胺（DA）的释放。 DA在调节NAc活性中的一个作用可能是促进兴奋性传递的长期变化，这些变化在重复激活多巴胺能传入后观察到。 然而，这种突触可塑性发展的确切机制，以及滥用药物如何改变这种突触可塑性，仍然知之甚少。 为了研究滥用药物在NAc中的作用，我们利用电生理和快速扫描循环伏安法（FSCV）记录技术在转基因和正常啮齿动物的脑切片中进行。 通过结合这些方法，我们希望能够同时监测DA水平的变化和突触可塑性的发展。 我们最近的实验涉及检查兴奋性突触所产生的腹侧被盖（VTA）DA神经元在转基因大鼠中，其中Cre重组酶是在酪氨酸羟化酶启动子（TH-Cre大鼠）的控制下的突触特性。 因此，我们选择性地表达光激活蛋白，通道视紫红质-2（ChR-2），使用腺相关病毒含有ChR-2结构（AAV-DIO-ChR 2）。由于许多酪氨酸羟化酶阳性（TH+）VTA神经元也表达囊泡谷氨酸-2转运蛋白（VGlut-2），因此它们能够将DA和谷氨酸信号共同传递到NAc以及VTA靶向的其他脑区。 在脑切片的实验中，我们发现，FSCV可以检测到DA的释放在NAC光激活（473 nm）的TH+轴突，但不是在外侧缰（LHb），另一个脑区接收TH+输入VTA。 然而，与这些实验相反，我们还发现，光激活的，谷氨酸介导的突触EPSC在两个大脑区域都很容易检测到。 这表明，DA释放的机制在LHb中的NAc不同，而谷氨酸释放的控制是不同的。 随后的实验研究NAc和LHb中的突触能EPSC的性质表明，这些光激活的突触电流的生物物理动力学显著不同，NAc中的那些表现出比NAc中的那些慢得多的衰减动力学。 这些数据表明，这些相同的TH+神经元靶向的离子型谷氨酸受体在这些不同的脑区域中不同。 计划中的实验将阐明这种差异的分子基础。

The nucleus accumbens (NAc) represents a critical site for the rewarding and addictive properties of several classes of abused drugs. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the actions of abused drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, opioids, and designer drugs on physiology of this system, as well as to understand the important brain circuits that connect with the NAc. In addition, this brain nucleus is known to mediate motivational aspects of behavior. For this reason the NAc has been implicated in a variety of psychiatric disorders that involve alterations in mood and motivation, as well as in the process of drug addiction. The NAc medium spiny GABAergic output neurons (MSNs) receive innervation from other intrinsic MSNs, and glutamatergic innervation from extrinsic sources. Both GABAergic and glutamatergic synapses onto MSNs are inhibited by abused drugs, suggesting that this action may contribute to their rewarding properties. In addition, abused drugs are known to increase the release of dopamine (DA)in the NAc. One role of DA in regulating NAc activity may be to contribute to the long-term changes in excitatory transmission observed following repetitive activation of glutamatergic afferents. However, the precise mechanisms through which such synaptic plasticity develops, and how drugs of abuse alter such synaptic plasticity, remain poorly understood. To investigate the actions of abused drugs in the NAc, we are utilizing both electrophysiological and fast scan cyclic voltammetry (FSCV) recording techniques in brain slices obrained from transgenic and normal rodents. By combining these approaches, we hope to be able to simultaneously monitor changes in DA levels and the development of synaptic plasticity. Our most recent experiments have involved examining the synaptic properties of excitatory synapses arising from ventral tegmental (VTA)DA neurons in transgenic rats in which cre recombinase is under control of the tyrosine hydroxylase promoter (TH-Cre rats). Therefore, we selectively expressed the light-activated protein, channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR-2), using an adeno-associated virus containing the ChR-2 construct (AAV-DIO-ChR2). As many tyrosine hydroxylase positive (TH+) VTA neurons also express the vesicular glutamate-2 transporter (VGlut-2) they are capable of co-transmitting DA and glutamate signals to the NAc, as well as to other brain areas targeted by the VTA. In experiments with brain slices, we find that FSCV can detect DA release in the NAc during light-activation (473 nm) of TH+ axons, but not in the lateral habenula (LHb), another brain area receiving TH+ inputs from VTA. However, in contrast to these experiments, we also find that light-activated, glutamate-mediated synaptic EPSCs are readily detected in both brain regions. This suggestes that the mechanisms of DA release in the LHb differ from those in the NAc, whereas the control of glutamate release is distinct. Subsequent experiments examining the properties of glutamatergic EPSCs in both the NAc and LHb demonstrate that the biophysical kinetics of these light-activated synaptic currents differ significantly, with those in the NAc demonstrating much slower decay kinetic than those in the NAc. These data suggest that the ionotropic glutamate receptors targeted by these same TH+ neurons differ in these distinct brain regions. Planned experiments will elucidate the molecular basis for this difference.