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Dnmt3a In The Hippocampal Ca1 Is Crucial In The Acquisition Of Morphine Self‐Administration In Rats, Jian-Jun Zhang, Feng-Ze Jiang, Wei Zheng, Ying Duan, Su-Bo Jin, Fang Shen, Jing Liang, Ming Li, Nan Sui

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Drug‐reinforced excessive operant responding is one fundamental feature of long-lasting addiction‐like behaviors and relapse in animals. However, the transcriptional regulatory mechanisms responsible for the persistent drug‐specific (not natural rewards) operant behavior are not entirely clear. In this study, we demonstrate a key role for one of the de novo DNA methyltransferase, DNMT3a, in the acquisition of morphine self‐administration (SA) in rats. The expression of DNMT3a in the hippocampal CA1 region but not in the nucleus accumbens shell was significantly up‐regulated after 1‐ and 7‐day morphine SA (0.3 mg/kg/infusion) but not after the yoked morphine injection. On the other hand, saccharin …