Region-specific contribution of the ventral tegmental area to heroin-induced conditioned immunomodulation

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Hutson, Lee
- Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience

Abstract

Dopamine receptor stimulation is critical for heroin-conditioned immunomodulation; however, it is unclear whether the ventral tegmental area (VTA) contributes to this phenomenon. Hence, rats received repeated pairings of heroin with placement into a distinct environmental context. At test, they were re-exposed to the previously heroin-paired environment followed by systemic lipopolysaccharide treatment to induce an immune response. Bilateral GABA agonist-induced neural inactivation of the anterior, but not the posterior VTA, prior to context re-exposure inhibited the ability of the heroin-paired environment to suppress peripheral nitric oxide and tumor necrosis factor-alpha expression, suggesting a role for the anterior VTA in heroin-conditioned immunomodulation.

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