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- Title
Mice with Chronically Elevated Dopamine Exhibit Enhanced Motivation, but not Learning, for a Food Reward.
- Authors
Cagniard, Barbara; Balsam, Peter D.; Brunner, Daniela; Xiaoxi Zhuang
- Abstract
Dopamine has been critically implicated in learning and motivation, although its precise role remains to be determined. In order to investigate the involvement of dopamine in learning and motivation for a food reward, we used dopamine transporter knockdown mice (DAT KD) that have chronically elevated levels of extracellular dopamine. The present study demonstrates that chronically elevated dopamine enhances tendency to work for a food reward without apparent effects on Pavlovian and operant learning for this reward. The increase in dopamine is associated with elevated levels of dynorphin and Fos B expression in the dorsal caudate-putamen and the core but not the shell subregion of the nucleus accumbens. These data suggest that motivation to work, but not learning, for a food reward appears to be under the critical influence of tonic dopaminergic activity in discrete brain areas relevant for a reward-directed behavior.Neuropsychopharmacology (2006) 31, 1362–1370. doi:10.1038/sj.npp.1300966; published online 23 November 2005
- Subjects
DOPAMINE; MICE; NEUROTRANSMITTERS; FOOD; LEARNING
- Publication
Neuropsychopharmacology, 2006, Vol 31, Issue 7, p1362
- ISSN
0893-133X
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1038/sj.npp.1300966