Elsevier

Behavioural Brain Research

Volume 305, 15 May 2016, Pages 218-222
Behavioural Brain Research

Short communication
The medial preoptic area modulates cocaine-induced locomotion in male rats

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2016.03.002Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Cocaine-induced locomotion is mediated by the medial preoptic area.

  • Lesions of the medial preoptic area facilitate cocaine-induced locomotion.

  • Mediation of cocaine-induced locomotion by the medial preoptic area requires input from both hemispheres.

Abstract

Cocaine-induced locomotion is mediated by dopamine in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). Recent evidence indicates that the medial preoptic area (mPOA), a region in the rostral hypothalamus, modulates cocaine-induced dopamine in the NAc. Specifically, rats with lesions of the mPOA experienced a greater increase in dopamine following cocaine administration than rats with sham lesions. Whether the mPOA similarly influences cocaine-induced locomotion is not known. Here we examined whether radiofrequency or neurotoxic lesions of the mPOA in male rats influence changes in locomotion that follow cocaine administration. Locomotion was measured following cocaine administration in male rats with neurotoxic, radiofrequency, or sham lesions of the mPOA. Results indicate that bilateral lesions of the mPOA facilitated cocaine-induced locomotion. This facilitation was independent of lesion type, as increased locomotion was observed with either approach. These findings support a role for the mPOA as an integral region in the processing of cocaine-induced behavioral response, in this case locomotor activity.

Section snippets

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgments

This project was funded by NIDA grant R01-DA032789 to JMD. RGW is on NIAAA training grant T32-AA007471. JRM was awarded an Undergraduate Research Fellowship from the Office of the Vice President for Research, The University of Texas at Austin. Parts of this study were performed as fulfillment of JRM’s Honors Thesis. We wish to thank Dr. Chris Robison for comments on an earlier version of this manuscript.

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