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Ventral Tegmental Area Regulation Of Stress-Induced Reinstatement Of Cocaine-Seeking Behavior, Jordan Michael Blacktop
Ventral Tegmental Area Regulation Of Stress-Induced Reinstatement Of Cocaine-Seeking Behavior, Jordan Michael Blacktop
Dissertations (1934 -)
No FDA approved medications currently exist for the prevention of drug craving, drug seeking, and relapse to cocaine use. Stress is a major factor in causing relapse in cocaine dependent individuals. Cocaine use is positively correlated with stress-induced craving and relapse outcomes. Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) is a 41-amino acid neuropeptide that plays an important role in the stress response and in the reinstatement rodent model of stress-induced relapse. CRF is released during stress in brain regions associated with the effects of drugs of abuse, notably the ventral tegmental area (VTA). This dissertation addresses key unknown mechanisms behind drug-induced neuroplasticity and …