Transcriptional profile of brain reward circuits following methamphetamine self-administration

Methamphetamine (METH) is a powerful stimulant that has caused addiction (compulsive drug seeking and taking behavior) in millions of people world-wide. METH abuse is also associated with negative impact on the brain. One feature of addiction is uncontrollable drug seeking despite adverse consequences and becomes habitual. To mimic this in a rat model, rats with a history of METH use are given the opportunity to earn METH accompanied by aversive shocks on their feet. Rats that continue to take METH are shock-resistant (SR) and rats that reduce their METH intake are shock-sensitive (SS ).Rats that self-administered saline are controls (CT). In addition, we used controls for shock paradigm. For this purpose, when METH SA rat received a shock, the saline SA rat was also shocked. The separate groups of rats that were yoked (Y) to the corresponding METH shock-resistant (SR) and shock-sensitive (SS) rats are termed YSR and YSS, respectively. Overall design: Rats self-administered (SA) METH for 21 days followed by footshocks for 8 days. The drug-naïve control rats (CT) will be the same as the METH-trained rats except sterile saline is infused after the active lever press. The control animals for footshock also received saline but were yoked to the METH-trained rats that receive contingent shocks. There were separate groups of rats that were yoked (Y) to the corresponding METH shock-resistant (SR) and shock-sensitive (SS) rats. They are termed YSR and YSS, respectively.