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Gap Junction Communication In Memory Retrieval And Extinction Of Cocaine Seeking, Michael Fitzgerald

Theses and Dissertations

Blocking drug-associated memory retrieval or enhancing extinction of drug-seeking behavior are two strategies that could limit relapse in drug addicts. The loci of retrieval and extinction memory processes include the prelimbic medial prefrontal cortex and the infralimbic medial prefrontal cortex, respectively. The neurochemical and synaptic mechanisms underlying drug-related behavior have received considerable attention, but extrasynaptic mechanisms are relatively unexplored. One form of cellular communication, gap junction communication, may play a role in drug-related learning and memory. Gap junction communication between neurons and astrocytes provide a cytoplasmic continuity between connected cells and both neuronal and astrocytic gap junction communication have been …