Individual sensitivity to novelty and (+)-3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine: Roles for serotonin and GABA neurotransmission

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dc.contributor.advisorKathryn A. Cunninghamen_US
dc.contributor.committeeMemberThomas A. Kenten_US
dc.contributor.committeeMemberTerry E. Robinsonen_US
dc.contributor.committeeMemberMary L. Thomasen_US
dc.contributor.committeeMemberCheryl S. Watsonen_US
dc.creatorJulie Danielle Rossen_US
dc.date.accessioned2011-12-20T16:04:39Z
dc.date.available2010-09-28en_US
dc.date.available2011-12-20T16:04:39Z
dc.date.created2006-04-27en_US
dc.date.issued2005-01-27en_US
dc.description.abstractDrug addiction continues to be a problem in our society, and better understanding of the neuroanatomical and neurochemical alterations that delineate the switch between causal drug use and compulsive drug addiction is needed. Characterizing what makes one individual more vulnerable to the development of compulsive drug-taking behaviors may hold the key to this complex phenomenon. Because individual differences in humans exist to the subjective effects of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and these differences are rooted, in part, in individual sensitivity to the drug effects, we utilized two animal models of increased sensitivity in the current studies. First, in a sensitization animal model we examined the mechanisms of increased sensitivity to (+)-MDMA and found a critical role for serotonin (5-HT) neurotransmission, in particular the 5-HT2A receptor (5-HT2AR) in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and prefrontal cortex (PFC). We then carried this finding into a model of individual difference in which animals are separated based on their differential locomotor response to a novel environment into high responder rats (HR) and low responder rats (LR). In addition to an increased sensitivity to (+)-MDMA, we uncovered basal differences in the 5-HT system between HR and LR rats, an increased level of expression of the 5-HT2AR in the NAc of HR rats in particular. Additionally, we examined the brain structures activated secondary to novelty in HR vs. LR rats and the phenotype-specific behavioral changes after repeated exposure to the environment. Our findings revealed a strong influence of GABA neurotransmission that may underlie the differences between HR vs. LR behavioral phenotypes. These findings lend support to the idea that the neural systems underlying drug-induced and stress-induced behaviors overlap and may help to understand how individual sensitivity to both (+)-MDMA and novelty may confer an increased vulnerability to the development of compulsive drug-taking behavior.en_US
dc.format.mediumelectronicen_US
dc.identifier.otheretd-04272006-105627en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2152.3/103
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.rightsCopyright © is held by the author. Presentation of this material on the TDL web site by The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston was made possible under a limited license grant from the author who has retained all copyrights in the works.en_US
dc.subjectvulnerabilityen_US
dc.subjectMDMAen_US
dc.subjectdrug abuseen_US
dc.subjectDOIen_US
dc.subjectc-Fosen_US
dc.subject5-HT2A receptoren_US
dc.titleIndividual sensitivity to novelty and (+)-3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine: Roles for serotonin and GABA neurotransmissionen_US
dc.type.genredissertationen_US
dc.type.materialtexten_US
thesis.degree.departmentNeuroscienceen_US
thesis.degree.grantorThe University of Texas Medical Branchen_US
thesis.degree.levelDoctoralen_US
thesis.degree.namePhDen_US

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