Intra-VTA injection of the 5-HT2CR agonist Ro 60-0175 at 5 mu g/0.2 mu l, but not 1 mu g/0.2 mu l, attenuated the increase in accumbal DA outflow induced by the systemic administration of 10 mg/kg of cocaine. Intra-VTA injection of the 5-HT2CR antagonist

SB 242084 at either dose (0.1 or 0.5 mu g/0.2 mu l) did not modify the effects Selleckchem Blasticidin S of cocaine. Intra-NAc application of Ro 60-0175 dose-dependently excited ( 0.1 mu M) and inhibited (1 mu M) cocaine-induced DA outflow. In contrast, intra-NAc application of SB 242084 resulted in diametrically opposite effects when applied at these concentrations. These results further support the idea that the overall action of central 5-HT(2C)Rs on accumbal DA output is dependent, at least in part, on the functional balance between different 5-HT2CR populations within the

NAc and within the mesoaccumbens DA pathway (VTA vs NAc).”
“Heavy ecstasy use has been associated with neurocognitive deficits in various behavioral and brain imaging studies. However, this association is not conclusive owing to the unavoidable confounding factor of polysubstance use. The present study, as part of the Netherlands XTC Toxicity study, investigated specific effects of ecstasy on working memory, attention, and associative memory, using functional magnetic resonance imaging ( fMRI). A large sample (n = 71) was carefully composed based on variation in the amount and type of drugs

that were used. The sample included 33 heavy ecstasy users (mean 322 pills lifetime). Neurocognitive brain function in three domains: working memory, Selleckchem IPI-549 attention, and associative memory, was assessed with performance measures and fMRI. Independent effects of the use of ecstasy, amphetamine, cocaine, cannabis, alcohol, tobacco, and of gender and IQ were assessed and separated by means of multiple regression analyses. Use of ecstasy had no effect on working memory and attention, but drug use was associated with reduced associative memory performance. Multiple regression analysis showed that associative memory performance was affected by amphetamine much more than by ecstasy. Both drugs affected Oxaliplatin associative memory-related brain activity, but the effects were consistently in opposite directions, suggesting that different mechanisms are at play. This could be related to the different neurotransmitter systems these drugs predominantly act upon, that is, serotonin (ecstasy) vs dopamine (amphetamine) systems.”
“The cannabinoid CB1 receptor is one of the most abundant G protein-coupled receptors in the brain and is a promising target of therapeutic drug development. Success of drug development for neuropsychiatric indications is significantly enhanced with the ability to directly measure spatial and temporal binding of compounds to receptors in central compartments.