Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40529937›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in behavioral neuroscience2025

Higher levels of D2R and D3R in the frontal-striatal regions are associated with reduced perseverative reward seeking after opioid abstinence.

Yingying Li, Xigeng Zheng, Cong Gao, Shao Li, Zhengkui Liu, Meixuan Lv, Fei Xiao, Yunjing Bai

Abstract read
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Article in Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Yingying Li *State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Xigeng Zheng *State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Cong GaoState Key Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Shao LiDepartment of Physiology, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Liaoning Provincial Key Laboratory of Cerebral Diseases, National-Local Joint Engineering Research Center for Drug-Research and Development (R&D) of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China.
Zhengkui LiuState Key Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Meixuan LvState Key Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Fei XiaoState Key Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Yunjing BaiState Key Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Introduction: The lower levels of dopamine D2 receptor (D2R) in the striatum and the heightened levels of dopamine D2 receptor (D3R) in the midbrain have been linked to impulsive behavior and risky decision-making associated with drug dependence. While D3R has been considered a potential target for treating drug dependence, the connection between D3R in the prefrontal-striatal regions and maladaptive drug-related behaviors remains poorly understood. Methods: This study utilized two high-cost tasks to investigate perseverative reward seeking, specifically conflict-based approaching behavior and persistent responding behavior under a progesterone receptor (PR) procedure. Additionally, D2R and D3R levels in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and striatum were examined through Western blotting. Results: After each task, male rats were divided into two subpopulations: high-approaching vs. low-approaching and high-responding vs. low-responding. Rats treated with morphine (MOR) exhibited a 3 fold increase in the likelihood of developing high-approaching or high-responding behaviors compared to drug-naïve rats. D2R expression was higher in the ventral striatum of morphine-treated, low-approaching rats than high-approaching rats, negatively correlating with approaching behaviors within the morphine-exposed group. After six consecutive PR sessions, D3R levels in the dorsal striatum differed significantly between morphine-treated, low-responding rats and morphine-treated, high-responding rats, negatively correlating with responding behaviors within the morphine-exposed group. An intriguing finding was the non-linear relationships, resembling an inverted U shape, observed between the level of D3R in the mPFC and reward-seeking behaviors, as revealed by both tasks. Discussion: The elevated or relatively higher levels of D2R and D3R in the frontal-striatal regions may serve as protective factors for individuals abstaining from opioids, enabling them to control their reward-seeking behavior better.

Indexed as

D2/D3morphineperseverationprefrontal cortexreward seekingstriatum

Identifiers

PMID40529937
PMCPMC12171296

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