Cocaine addiction is characterized by a gradual loss of control over drug use, but molecular mechanisms regulating vulnerability to this process remain unclear. Here we report that microRNA-212 (miR-212) is upregulated in the dorsal striatum of rats with a history of extended access to cocaine. Striatal miR-212 decreases responsiveness to the motivational properties of cocaine by dramatically amplifying the stimulatory effects of the drug on CREB signaling. This action occurs through miR-212-enhanced Raf-1 activity, resulting in adenylyl cyclase sensitization and increased expression of the essential CREB co-activator TORC (Transducer of Regulated CREB; also known as CRTC). Our findings suggest that striatal miR-212 signaling plays a key role in determining vulnerability to cocaine addiction, reveal novel molecular regulators that control the complex actions of cocaine in brain reward circuitries, and provide an entirely new direction for the development of anti-addiction therapeutics based on modulation of noncoding RNAs.

The X-linked transcriptional repressor methyl CpG binding protein 2 (MeCP2), known for its role in the neurodevelopmental disorder Rett syndrome, is emerging as an important regulator of neuroplasticity in post-mitotic neurons. Cocaine addiction is commonly viewed as a disorder of neuroplasticity, but the potential involvement of MeCP2 has not been explored. Here we identify a key role for MeCP2 in the dorsal striatum in the escalating cocaine intake seen in rats with extended access to the drug, a process that mimics the increasingly uncontrolled cocaine use seen in human addicts. MeCP2 regulates cocaine intake through homeostatic interactions with microRNA-212 (miR-212) to control the effects of cocaine on striatal brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels. These data suggest that homeostatic interactions between MeCP2 and miR-212 in dorsal striatum may play an important role in regulating vulnerability to cocaine addiction.

Damage to the insular cortex can profoundly disrupt tobacco addiction in human smokers, reflected in spontaneous cessation of the tobacco habit and persistently decreased urge to smoke. Little is known concerning the neurobiological mechanisms through which the insula may control the maintenance of the tobacco habit. Emerging evidence suggests that hypocretin (orexin) transmission may play an important role in drug reinforcement processes, but its role in the rewarding actions of nicotine, considered the key addictive component of tobacco smoke, remains largely unexplored. Here we show that blockade of hypocretin transmission at hypocretin-1 (Hcrt-1; orexin-1) receptors decreases i.v. nicotine self-administration in rats and the motivation to obtain the drug. Blockade of Hcrt-1 receptors also abolished the stimulatory effects of nicotine on brain reward circuitries, as measured by reversal of nicotine-induced lowering of intracranial self-stimulation thresholds. In addition, we show that hypocretin-containing fibers innervate the insula, Hcrt-1 receptors are located on insular cells, and blockade of Hcrt-1 receptors in the insula but not in the adjacent somatosensory cortex decreases nicotine self-administration. These data demonstrate that insular hypocretin transmission plays a permissive role in the motivational properties of nicotine, and therefore may be a key neurobiological substrate necessary for maintaining tobacco addiction in human smokers.craving ͉ orexin ͉ self-administration ͉ intracranial self-stimulation C igarette smoking is one of the largest preventable causes of death and disease in developed countries, and accounts for approximately 440,000 deaths and $160 billion in health-related costs annually in the United States (1). Despite the well known negative health consequences of the tobacco smoking habit, only approximately 10% of smokers who attempt to quit annually remain abstinent after 1 year, highlighting the persistence of the smoking habit. The insula is a cortical brain region involved in processing interoceptive information related to emotional and motivational states to facilitate maintenance of physiological homeostasis (2). This brain region may also regulate the experience of conscious urges and cravings (2-4). It was recently reported that damage to the insula in human smokers resulted in a profound disruption of tobacco addiction characterized by spontaneous cessation of the smoking habit and a low urge to smoke thereafter (3). Conversely, abstinence-induced cigarette craving in smokers is highly correlated with activation of the insular cortex (5). The neurobiological mechanisms through which the insula regulates the persistence of the tobacco habit remain unclear.Nicotine is a major reinforcing constituent of tobacco responsible for the smoking habit in humans (6). In common with other major drugs of abuse, nicotine can directly stimulate reward circuitries in the brain (7), and obtaining the reward-enhancing effects of nicotine may contribute to the persistence of the tobacco ...

Hypocretin (orexin) and dynorphin are neuropeptides with opposing actions on motivated behavior. Orexin is implicated in states of arousal and reward, whereas dynorphin is implicated in depressive-like states. We show that, despite their opposing actions, these peptides are packaged in the same synaptic vesicles within the hypothalamus. Disruption of orexin function blunts the rewarding effects of lateral hypothalamic (LH) stimulation, eliminates cocaine-induced impulsivity, and reduces cocaine selfadministration. Concomitant disruption of dynorphin function reverses these behavioral changes. We also show that orexin and dynorphin have opposing actions on excitability of ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine neurons, a prominent target of orexin-containing neurons, and that intra-VTA orexin antagonism causes decreases in cocaine self-administration and LH self-stimulation that are reversed by dynorphin antagonism. Our findings identify a unique cellular process by which orexin can occlude the reward threshold-elevating effects of coreleased dynorphin and thereby act in a permissive fashion to facilitate reward.O rexin promotes arousal (1) and has been implicated in the rewarding effects of food (2, 3), sexual behavior (4), and drugs of abuse (5, 6). It is produced primarily within the hypothalamus (7), and acts at orexin 1 receptor (OX 1 R) and OX 2 R (also known as Hcrt-R1 and Hcrt-R2), which are expressed in many brain areas, including the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of the midbrain (8). Dynorphin, in contrast, is expressed widely, promotes depressive-like behaviors, and plays a key role in mediating the aversive effects of stress (9, 10). Activation of kappaopioid receptor (KORs), the receptors at which dynorphin acts (11), can attenuate the rewarding effects of drugs of abuse (12, 13) via actions that are mediated, at least in part, within midbrain dopamine (DA) systems (14, 15). Despite their seemingly opposing effects on motivation, there is evidence that these peptides may act in tandem; for example, both orexin and dynorphin are released during electrical stimulation of the hypothalamus (16). Like DA neurons, orexin and dynorphin neurons increase their activity in response to arousing stimuli like rewards and stressors (17). The functional effects of this pattern of neuropeptide coexpression on brain reward systems, and, in turn, on motivated behavior, are poorly understood because orexin and dynorphin are not traditionally studied together. Given their opposing effects on behavior and neuronal physiology when studied alone, it can be hypothesized that dominance in the effects of one peptide over the other could cause widely divergent behavioral phenotypes in reward sensitivity. For example, dominant orexin signaling may enhance reward sensitivity and reward seeking, whereas dominant dynorphin signaling may result in decreased reward sensitivity and anergia. Because these states have major relevance to psychiatric illnesses like addiction and depression, where reward processing is disordered, we sought ...

Electrophysiological recordings were completed in rats (n ϭ 14) trained to self-administer cocaine to determine whether activation of nucleus accumbens (Acb) neurons (core vs shell) by cocaine-associated stimuli is enhanced after 1 month of cocaine abstinence. After self-administration training, 170 cells were recorded during a single test session conducted either the next day or 1 month later. The test session consisted of three phases during which (1) the cocaine cue was presented unexpectedly to rats, (2) rats responded for the same cue in the absence of the drug (extinction), and (3) the cocaine cue was presented randomly between cocaine-reinforced responding during resumption of self-administration. The cocaine stimulus significantly increased activation of Acb core (not shell) neurons after 1 month of cocaine abstinence (compared with 1 d); this finding occurred regardless of contingency of cue presentation or cocaine availability. Acb core activation was not observed in other rats (n ϭ 7) presented with the same stimulus never paired with cocaine. The results reflect a cellular neuroadaptation in the Acb core related to cocaine-associated cues that is observed during initial cue exposure and sustained during extinction and resumption of self-administration after prolonged drug abstinence.