COCAINE FACILITATES PREFRONTAL CORTEX SELF-STIMULATION

It has been demonstrated that cocaine HCl lowers thresholds for and increases rates of medial forebrain bundle intracranial self-stimulation. The influence of cocaine on prefrontal cortex self-stimulation was assessed in the present experiment. The prefrontal cortex was chosen because evidence indicates that the neuroanatomical and pharmacological substrate for intracranial self-stimulation at this site may differ from the substrate for medial forebrain bundle self-stimulation. Cocaine significantly decreased train-duration thresholds and increased the rate of prefrontal cortex self-stimulation. It was concluded that cocaine facilitates both prefrontal cortex and medial forebrain bundle self-stimulation, perhaps by influencing neural activity in the mesocorticolimbic dopamine system. However, the role of dopamine in cocaine's effects at both sites remains speculative. © 1990.