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The Neural Encoding Of Cocaine-Induced Devaluation In The Ventral Pallidum, Chung-Lung Chan, Daniel S. Wheeler, Robert A. Wheeler

Biomedical Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Cocaine experience affects motivation structures such as the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and its major output target, the ventral pallidum (VP). Previous studies demonstrated that both NAc activity and hedonic responses change reliably as a taste cue comes to predict cocaine availability. Here we extended this investigation to examine drug-experience induced changes in hedonic encoding in the VP. VP activity was first characterized in adult male Sprague–Dawley rats in response to intraoral infusions of palatable saccharin and unpalatable quinine solutions. Next, rats received 7 daily pairings of saccharin that predicted either a cocaine (20 mg/kg, ip) or saline injection. Finally, the …