Author Question: Describe the role of dopamine in reinforcing brain stimulation. What will be an ideal ... (Read 65 times)

iveyjurea

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Describe the role of dopamine in reinforcing brain stimulation.
 
  What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

Discuss the role of the NMDA receptor in LTP.
 
  What will be an ideal response?



janieazgirl

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Answer to Question 1

Answer: The ventral tegmental area (VTA) projects to the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) via the mesolimbic dopamine pathway. Increases of dopamine within the NAcc are reinforcing. Natural reinforcers (food for a hungry rat) will elicit this increase in DA, as will drugs of abuse such as amphetamine that are also reinforcing (i.e., rats will make a response that delivers the drug into their blood stream or directly into the NAcc).

Answer to Question 2

Answer: NMDA receptors are found in the hippocampus, are activated by glutamate and depolarization, and control a calcium channel in the postsynaptic dendrite. Blockade of NMDA receptors, using AP5, blocks the formation of LTP.



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