Dorsal medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) circuitry in rodent models of cocaine use: Implications for drug addiction therapies

摘要

Although the importance of the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) in cocaine addiction is well established, its precise contribution to cocaine seeking, taking and relapse remains incompletely understood. In particular, across two different models of cocaine self-administration, pharmacological or optogenetic activation of the dorsal MPFC has been reported to sometimes promote and sometimes inhibit cocaine seeking. We highlight important methodological differences between the two experimental paradigms and propose a framework to potentially reconcile the apparent discrepancy. We also draw parallels between these pre-clinical models of cocaine self-administration and human neuro-imaging studies in cocaine users, and argue that both lines of evidence point to dynamic interactions between cue-reactivity processes and control processes within the dorsal MPFC circuitry. From a translational perspective, these findings underscore the importance of interventions and therapeutics targeting not just a brain region, but a specific computational process within that brain region, and may have implications for the design and implementation of more effective treatments for human cocaine addiction. The contribution of the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) in cocaine addiction remains incompletely understood. Across two different models of cocaine self-administration, pharmacological or optogenetic activation of the dorsal MPFC sometimes promotes and sometimes inhibits cocaine seeking. We propose a framework to reconcile the apparent discrepancy, and argue that both animal models and human neuroimaging studies point to dynamic interactions between cue-reactivity processes and control processes within the dorsal MPFC circuitry, underscoring the importance of interventions targeting a specific computational process within a brain region.