Amphetamine Self-Administration and Its Extinction Alter the 5-HT(1B) Receptor Protein Levels in Designated Structures of the Rat Brain

Manipulation of the serotonin (5-HT)(1B) receptors can modify the behavioral effects of amphetamine including its reinforcing properties. Focus of this study was to examine changes in 5-HT(1B) receptor protein expression in several brain structures linked to substance drug disorder in different stages of amphetamine addiction—single session of amphetamine self-administration, 20 consecutive days of amphetamine self-administration, and 3 and 14 days of extinction from chronic drug intake. “Yoked” procedure was employed to set apart pharmacological and motivational effects of amphetamine intoxication. Immunohistofluorescence was performed on brain slices containing the following regions: nucleus accumbens (NAc) shell and core, globus pallidum (GP) lateral and ventral, hippocampus (HIP), substantia nigra (SN), and ventral tegmental area (VTA). Single amphetamine session decreased the amount of 5-HT(1B) receptors in SN, VTA, and HIP in active and yoked rats. On the contrary, 20 days of chronic amphetamine exposure triggered elevation of 5-HT(1B) receptors exclusively in animals that voluntarily administered the drug in NAc core, GP ventral, and HIP. Furthermore, 14-day (but not 3-day) extinction from amphetamine increased the 5-HT(1B) receptor expression in ventral and lateral GP, HIP, and SN. This study is the first to demonstrate that exposure to amphetamine and its extinction alter the expression of 5-HT(1B) receptors in various rat brain regions, and those changes seem to be transient and region specific. Importantly, since increased expression of 5-HT(1B) receptor after chronic amphetamine self-administration was limited only to active group of animals, we suggest that 5-HT(1B) receptor is linked to motivational aspect of addiction.