Comparison of acute and chronic neurochemical effects of cocaine and cocaine cues in rhesus monkeys and rodents: Focus on striatal and cortical dopamine systems

Preclinical work into the effects of cocaine on mesostriatal and mesocorticolimbic dopamine systems has rightly been dominated by studies in rodent models. From the wealth of data that has resulted from those studies, models of chronic neurobiological adaptations have been developed that might illuminate the cellular and systems bases for the compulsive and self-injurious aspects of addiction. Chronic adaptations of dopaminergic mechanisms often dominate these models. Our studies into the acute and chronic dopaminergic effects of cocaine in non-human primates are compared to important aspects of the larger rodent literature. In some ways there is good concordance, but in others the non-human primate results differ in ways that are more similar to the human literature. This is especially true in regard to sensitization of dopamine systems in response to chronic self-administration. To best evaluate potential models of addiction, it will be important to also consider data from non-human primates as a more proximal animal model to the human condition, particularly in the greater complexity of cortical development.