Relative roles of ventral striatal D1 and D2 dopamine receptors in responding with conditioned reinforcement

Abstract

Several experiments investigated the involvement of D1 and D2 dopamine receptors in the ventral striatum in the control over behaviour by a conditioned reinforcer using an acquisition of new response procedure. Intra-accumbens infusion of either the D1 receptor antagonist, SCH 23390, or the D2 receptor antagonist, raclopride, completely blocked the potentiative effects of intra-accumbens d-amphetamine on responding with conditioned reinforcement and reduced responding to control levels. SCH 23390 was more potent than raclopride. At higher doses in the absence of d-amphetamine, both antagonists also blocked the preference for responding on the lever producing the conditioned reinforcer. Intra-accumbens infusions of either the D1 receptor agonist, SKF 38393, or the D2/3 receptor agonist, LY 171555 (quinpirole), selectively potentiated responding on the lever producing the conditioned reinforcer. Various combined infusions of the D1 and D2 agonists in specific low doses had additive, but not synergistic, effects on responding with conditioned reinforcement. None of the drugs affected the drinking of water in deprived subjects when infused intra-accumbens. These results suggest that both D1 and D2 receptors in the nucleus accumbens are involved in mediating the effects of dopamine in potentiating the control over behaviour by conditioned reinforcers.

Methylphenidate Disrupts Social Play Behavior in Adolescent Rats

“…For a socially isolated animal, a conspecific is probably the most salient stimulus, and in this case one would expect that methylphenidate increases, rather than suppresses, social play. Moreover, this behavioral effect of psychostimulant drugs is mediated by dopaminergic neurotransmission (Wolterink et al, 1993), whereas the effect on social play behavior is not. Given that the effect of methylphenidate on social play is mediated by a noradrenergic mechanism, this effect could be related to the function of increases in tonic noradrenergic neurotransmission, that is, disengagement of a current task and search for alternative behaviors, which can become apparent as increased distractibility or response switching (Aston- Jones and Cohen, 2005).…”

Variations in Nucleus Accumbens Dopamine Associated with Individual Differences in Maternal Behavior in the Rat

“…Both D 1 and D 2 receptors in the n. Acc shell are associated with appetitive responses (Wolterink et al, 1993;Ikemoto et al, 1997) and subject to variation with changes in reproductive state (Bakowska and Morrell, 1995). The D 1 antagonist SCH23390 and D 2 antagonist clebopride impair maternal LG after parturition (Byrnes et al, 2002).…”

Sensitization of Psychomotor Stimulation and Conditioned Reward in Mice: Differential Modulation by Contextual Learning

“…Amphetamine, for instance, administered systemically or directly into the nucleus accumbens potently increases responding on the CR lever, without affecting responding on a lever not associated with reward (the NCR lever) (Robbins, 1976;Taylor and Robbins, 1984;Cador et al, 1989;Kelley and Delfs, 1991a, b;Parkinson et al, 1999;Everitt et al, 2000). In turn, both DA D1-(SCH23390) and D2-type (raclopride) receptor antagonists attenuate responding for a CR (Cador et al, 1991; for a review, see Sutton and Beninger, 1999) and reduce the reward potentiating effects of amphetamine (Wolterink et al, 1993). Together, these findings demonstrate a critical role of the nucleus accumbens DA system in CR and the acute potentiating effects of amphetamine.…”