BIOL 1F25 Lecture Notes - Miami-Dade County, Florida, Cocaine Dependence, Nucleus Accumbens

• School: Brock University
• Department: Biological Sciences
• Course: BIOL 1F25
• Professor: Alan Castle

Document Summary

Glutamate synapses: occur in the hippocampus, occur in the nucleus accumbens (nac, exhibit ltp in he hippocampus, exhibit ltp in the nac, all of the above. Chronic drug abuse might spur parkinson"s like syndrome in your people. Dade county, florida one of the highest death toll from cocaine. Addicts have build up (3x) of same protein found in parkinson"s brain (and other forms of dementia) Aggregated forms of this protein are toxic to cells. Found in higher levels in dopamine cells of vta in cocaine users. Last lecture: chronic administration of cocaine up regulates creb and increases dynorphin release from nac: impairs reward. Produces decreased sensitivity to rewarding effects of subsequent drug exposure (tolerance) C-fos induced in nac by acute cocaine use, but proteins are unstable and levels return to normal within 8-12 hours. Chronic cocaine induces a novel fos protein: fosb in nac very stable. Fosb induced in nac by many drugs of abuse and non-drug rewards.