Cerebral Cortex, Vol. 10, No. 5, 488-498,
May 2000
© 2000 Oxford University Press
Differential Effects of Discrete Subarea-specific Lesions of the Rat Medial Prefrontal Cortex on Amphetamine- and Cocaine-induced Behavioural Sensitization
Department of Neuropharmacology, Zoological Institute, University of Tübingen, Mohlstrasse 54/1, D-72074 Tübingen, Germany
The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of the rat is thought to be important for the initiation of behavioural sensitization. Since the mPFC is not a homogenous structure, we attempted to systematic- ally examine the contribution of the different subareas – infralimbic (il), prelimbic (pl), anterior cingulate (cg) – of the mPFC to the induction of sensitization by selectively lesioning these areas or the whole mPFC with quinolinic acid (45 nmol in 0.5 µl). During an initial habituation session only il or whole mPFC lesions reduced spon- taneous activity. Lesioned and sham-lesioned animals were then treated every other day with either saline, DL-amphetamine (3 mg/kg), or cocaine (20 mg/kg) for 2 weeks in their home cages and were then challenged with either DL-amphetamine (1.5 mg/kg) or cocaine (10 mg/kg) after 1 day and 2 weeks of withdrawal. None of the lesions affected the development of amphetamine-induced sensitization in any way, as assessed by several behavioural parameters including locomotion and sniffing. In contrast, cocaine-induced sensitization was significantly attenuated by pl and whole mPFC lesions, while il and cg lesions were without effect. These results show a double dissociation of the role of the mPFC in behavioural sensitization. The mPFC seems to be important only for cocaine- but not for amphetamine-induced sensitization, and only the pl area appears to be of relevance for cocaine-induced sensitization. It is suggested that these differences are due to differences in the pharmacological interaction of cocaine and amphetamine with the mesocortical dopamine system, and to the particular anatomical connections of each of the mPFC subregions.
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