A role for BDNF in cocaine reward and relapse

Abstract

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is important in regulating synaptic plasticity in the brain areas that process reward information. A new study reports that BDNF in the nucleus accumbens, a brain area critical for the rewarding effects of cocaine, promotes persistent cocaine-seeking behaviors and heightens relapse vulnerability.

Figure 1

Potential mechanisms underlying the effects of accumbens injections of BDNF or adeno-associated viral vector, which encodes CRE-recombinase to knock down local BDNF protein production, on cocaine reward and relapse. Exogenous BDNF can act locally in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) or act after retrograde transport to accumbens projection areas such as the hippocampus, basolateral amygdala (BLA), prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and VTA. Similarly, the viral vector can either act at the accumbens injection site to decrease local BDNF production or it can act distally after retrograde transport to the hippocampus, BLA, mPFC and VTA. These projection regions are also involved in cocaine’s behavioral effects, and BDNF mRNA expression in these areas is substantially higher than it is in the accumbens. Blue arrows, direction of transport of exogenous BDNF; red arrows, direction of transport of viral encapsulated BDNF.