Individual and combined effects of methamphetamine and ketamine on conditioned place preference and NR1 receptor phosphorylation in rats.

D. D. Xu*, Z. X. Mo, Kin Lam YUNG, Y. Yang, A. W. N. Leung*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

26 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Methamphetamine (MA), a commonly abused psychostimulant, induces the drug dependence by enhancing the dopamine-mediated neurotransmission. Ketamine (KET) is a non-competitive N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist, which can be actually mixed with MA for polydrug abuse. In the present study, the individual and combined effects of KET (10 mg/kg, i.p.) and MA (1 mg/kg, i.p.) on conditioned place preference in rats were investigated. The alterations of serine 897 phosphorylations of NR1 receptors in the striatum and ventral tegmental area of after-conditioning rats were measured immunochemically. The results showed repeated administrations of MA, KET and their combination, at the doses studied, all could induce psychological dependences evaluated by conditioned place preference. KET was not able to suppress the MA-induced place preference. The modulations of NR1 phosphorylations in basal ganglia were partly responsible to place preference. Although the alterations induced by KET were not significant in most areas we studied, MA showed a significant increase in the ventral tegmental area but a marked decrease in caudate putamen and nucleus accumbens. Such alterations were much more significant when KET and MA were combined. These results have important implications for public awareness of harm with combined drug abuse. Further investigations toward the specific interaction of the two drugs are necessary.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)322-331
Number of pages10
JournalNeuroSignals
Volume15
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - May 2008

Scopus Subject Areas

  • Neurology
  • Developmental Neuroscience
  • Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience

User-Defined Keywords

  • Methamphetamine
  • Ketamine
  • NMDA receptor
  • NMDA receptor antagonist
  • Conditioned place preference
  • Immunofluorescence
  • Neostriatum
  • Nucleus accumbens
  • Ventral tegmental area

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