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Studies using animal models of addiction have shown that drug seeking progressively increases after drug self-administration stops, which is a phenomenon called incubation of drug craving. Using neuroanatomical and neuropharmacological methods to measure brain activity, NIDA neuroscientists have identified a novel motivation-related thalamus-to-striatum brain projection that is critical to incubation of methamphetamine craving in the rat model. Identifying brain projections related to incubation of drug craving could provide new insights on the circuits that control drug craving and relapse.
Study:
- Li, et al. Role of Anterior Intralaminar Nuclei of Thalamus Projections to Dorsomedial Striatum in Incubation of Methamphetamine Craving. Journal of Neuroscience.