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Description:
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Currently , there are no approved medications for treating cocaine addiction , and cocaine addicts are highly prone to relapse . Cocaine cravings or seeking is difficult to control because of contextual cues and adequate treatment is not available . Previous studies found that group I metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR ) antagonists can block the induction of conditioned place preference (CPP ) , a measure of cocaine seeking behavior , but their functions after clinically relevant withdrawal periods are not known . Our study showed that group I mGluR antagonists failed to block the expression of cocaine -induced CPP . Furthermore , the amygdala is known to be involved in the learned associations between cocaine and the cocaine -taking environment ; changes in these associations are reflected in an in vitro model of plasticity , long -term potentiation , in amygdala pathways . Chronic cocaine withdrawal did not affect mGluR5 -mediated LTP in the basolateral to central amygdala pathway . However , mGluR1 -mediated LTP was reduced after cocaine administration and withdrawal and was partially due to GABA inhibition via endocannabinoids . |