CREB activity in the nucleus accumbens shell controls gating of behavioral responses to emotional stimuli

Barrot, M., Olivier, J. D. A., Perrotti, L. I., DiLeone, R. J., Berton, O., Eisch, A. J., Impey, S., Storm, D. R., Neve, R. L., Yin, J. C., Zachariou, V., Nestler, E. J. (August 2002) CREB activity in the nucleus accumbens shell controls gating of behavioral responses to emotional stimuli. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 99 (17). pp. 11435-11440. ISSN 0027-8424

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URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12165570

Abstract

The transcription factor cAMP response element (CRE)-binding protein (CREB) has been shown to regulate neural plasticity. Drugs of abuse activate CREB in the nucleus accumbens, an important part of the brain's reward pathways, and local manipulations of CREB activity have been shown to affect cocaine reward, suggesting an active role of CREB in adaptive processes that follow exposure to drugs of abuse. Using CRE-LacZ reporter mice, we show that not only rewarding stimuli such as morphine, but also aversive stimuli such as stress, activate CRE-mediated transcription in the nucleus accumbens shell. Using viral-mediated gene transfer to locally alter the activity of CREB, we show that this manipulation affects morphine reward, as well as the preference for sucrose, a more natural reward. We then show that local changes in CREB activity induce a more general syndrome, by altering reactions to anxiogenic, aversive, and nociceptive stimuli as well. Increased CREB activity in the nucleus accumbens shell decreases an animal's responses to each of these stimuli, whereas decreased CREB activity induces an opposite phenotype. These results show that environmental stimuli regulate CRE-mediated transcription within the nucleus accumbens shell, and that changes in CREB activity within this brain area subsequently alter gating between emotional stimuli and their behavioral responses. This control appears to be independent of the intrinsic appetitive or aversive value of the stimulus. The potential relevance of these data to addiction and mood disorders is discussed.

Item Type: Paper
Subjects: organism description > animal behavior
bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing > protein structure, function, modification > protein types > transcription factor
CSHL Authors:
Communities: CSHL labs > Yin lab
Depositing User: Matt Covey
Date: August 2002
Date Deposited: 09 Jan 2014 15:27
Last Modified: 10 Sep 2019 18:44
PMCID: PMC123274
Related URLs:
URI: https://repository.cshl.edu/id/eprint/28668

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