Repeated cocaine exposure in vivo facilitates LTP induction in midbrain dopamine neurons

Changes in plasticity of dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of the brain are associated with addiction to cocaine and other drugs of abuse. A study in mice suggests that the VTA may also be involved in forming drug-associated memory. Repeated doses of cocaine facilitated long-term potentiation in dopamine neurons, a phenomenon seen as a form of memory in which interlinked neurons acting together become more strongly connected. Cocaine seems to act by reducing GABA-mediated neuronal inhibition. These changes may explain the action of the antiepileptic drug γ-vinyl-GABA (vigabatrin), now in clinical trials for the treatment of cocaine addiction.