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. 2014 Jun 4;34(23):7899–7909. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3776-13.2014

Figure 3.

Figure 3.

Opiate motivational effects in opiate-dependent animals after blocking the function of BDNF in the VTA. a, Depletion of TrkB expression in the VTA reduces but does not block locomotor sensitization induced by chronic heroin administration. Animals infected with LV-GFP (n = 7) show an increase in locomotion after repeated heroin administrations, compared with animals infected with LV-siRNAs (n = 7; *p < 0.05). However, there is an effect of heroin in locomotion activation in LV-siRNAs groups compared with naive LV-siRNAs (n = 8) and LV-GFP (n = 8) animals (*p < 0.05). b, Blockade of the dopaminergic system with neuroleptics (α-flupenthixol, 0.8 mg/kg) fails to block the rewarding effects of morphine (10 mg/kg) in dependent rats after intra-VTA LV-siRNAs infection (n = 8 per group; *p < 0.05), opposite to LV-GFP-infected animals (n = 8 per group), where the pretreatment with neuroleptics blocks any morphine place preference. c, Reversible lidocaine (4%) TPP lesions (n = 8), but no Sham lesions (n = 8), block the rewarding properties of morphine administration in drug-dependent animals after intra-VTA LV-siRNAs infection, but the same inactivation of the TPP (n = 8), as occurs in Sham lesions (n = 8), does not affect morphine place preference in LV-GFP animals (*p < 0.05). d, LV-siRNAs (n = 8), compared with LV-GFP (n = 7), infections do not affect the size of the conditioned place preference produced by acute morphine administration in drug-nondependent rats (*p < 0.05). Data represent means ± SEM the absolute times spent during testing in the previously saline and previously morphine-paired compartments.