Conditioned dopamine release: dependence upon N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors

Modulation of feeding-induced activation of mesolimbic dopamine transmission by appetitive stimuli and its relation to motivational state

We have previously shown in non-deprived rats that feeding of an unfamiliar palatable food (Fonzies(R)) phasically stimulates in vivo dopamine (DA) transmission in the medial nucleus accumbens (NAc) and this effect undergoes habituation after a previous (24 h) Fonzies meal (Bassareo & Di Chiara 1997, J. Neurosci., 17, 851-861). The present study shows that an unfamiliar food (Kinder(R)) with a taste and composition (milk chocolate) different from that of Fonzies, also induces a release of DA in the NAc subjected to one-trial habituation. Habituation was taste specific as no cross-habituation was observed between Fonzies and Kinder. In undeprived rats, a 40-min exposure to an intrinsic appetitive stimulus (food smell arising from a Fonzies-filled plastic box) also prevented the increase in dialysate DA associated with Fonzies feeding, and this effect was partially reversed by food deprivation. Food deprivation also prevented habituation of Fonzies-induced increase of dialysate DA in the NAc. Predictive association of an empty plastic box to Fonzies feeding resulted in the acquisition of appetitive properties by the box and in facilitation (rather than inhibition) of the phasic responsiveness of DA transmission to Fonzies feeding. A 10-min pre-exposure to appetitive olfactory stimuli intrinsic to Fonzies still prevented, like a 40-min pre-exposure, the NAc DA response to Fonzies feeding; however, a 5-min pre-exposure to these appetitive stimuli did not prevent the DA response in the NAc. These results show that the phasic responsiveness of NAc DA transmission to an unfamiliar palatable food is under strong modulatory control by primary (consummatory) and secondary (appetitive) stimuli, and that the sign and extent of this control depends on the nature of the appetitive stimulus, delay of reward and motivational state (deprivation).

The regulation of forebrain dopamine transmission: relevance to the pathophysiology and psychopathology of schizophrenia

Since the discovery that the therapeutic efficacy of antipsychotic drugs was significantly correlated to their ability to block dopamine D2 receptors, abnormal dopamine transmission in the forebrain has been postulated to underlie psychosis in schizophrenia. In the past 15 years, an impressive amount of clinical and basic research aimed at the study of schizophrenia has indicated that prefrontal and temporal cortical abnormalities may be more important in the etiology of many of the symptoms of schizophrenia, including psychosis. However, the cortical systems that appear to have structural and/or metabolic abnormalities in schizophrenia patients potently regulate forebrain dopamine transmission through a number of mechanisms. In turn, dopamine modulates excitatory transmission mediated by frontal and temporal cortical projections to the basal ganglia and other regions. The present review summarizes the multiple interactions between forebrain DA systems and frontal and temporal corticostriatal transmission. It then examines the role of these interactions in normal behaviors and the psychopathology of schizophrenia.

Drug addiction as dopamine-dependent associative learning disorder

Natural rewards preferentially stimulate dopamine transmission in the nucleus accumbens shell. This effect undergoes adaptive changes (one-trial habituation, inhibition by appetitive stimuli) that are consistent with a role of nucleus accumbens shell dopamine in associative reward-related learning. Experimental studies with a variety of paradigms confirm this role. A role in associative stimulus-reward learning can provide an explanation for the extinction-like impairment of primary reinforcement that led Wise to propose the 'anhedonia hypothesis'. Addictive drugs share with natural rewards the property of stimulating dopamine transmission preferentially in the nucleus accumbens shell. This response, however, in contrast to that to natural rewards, is not subjected to one-trial habituation. Resistance to habituation allows drugs to activate dopamine transmission in the shell non-decrementally upon repeated self-administration. It is hypothesized that this process abnormally strengthens stimulus-drug associations thus resulting in the attribution of excessive motivational value to discrete stimuli or contexts predictive of drug availability. Addiction is therefore the expression of the excessive control over behaviour acquired by drug-related stimuli as a result of abnormal associative learning following repeated stimulation of dopamine transmission in the nucleus accumbens shell.

Associative processes in addiction and reward. The role of amygdala-ventral striatal subsystems

Only recently have the functional implications of the organization of the ventral striatum, amygdala, and related limbic-cortical structures, and their neuroanatomical interactions begun to be clarified. Processes of activation and reward have long been associated with the NAcc and its dopamine innervation, but the precise relationships between these constructs have remained elusive. We have sought to enrich our understanding of the special role of the ventral striatum in coordinating the contribution of different functional subsystems to confer flexibility, as well as coherence and vigor, to goal-directed behavior, through different forms of associative learning. Such appetitive behavior comprises many subcomponents, some of which we have isolated in these experiments to reveal that, not surprisingly, the mechanisms by which an animal sequences responding to reach a goal are complex. The data reveal how the different components, pavlovian approach (or sign-tracking), conditioned reinforcement (whereby pavlovian stimuli control goal-directed action), and also more general response-invigorating processes (often called "activation," "stress," or "drive") may be integrated within the ventral striatum through convergent interactions of the amygdala, other limbic cortical structures, and the mesolimbic dopamine system to produce coherent behavior. The position is probably not far different when considering aversively motivated behavior. Although it may be necessary to employ simplified, even abstract, paradigms for isolating these mechanisms, their concerted action can readily be appreciated in an adaptive, functional setting, such as the responding by rats for intravenous cocaine under a second-order schedule of reinforcement. Here, the interactions of primary reinforcement, psychomotor activation, pavlovian conditioning, and the control that drug cues exert over the integrated drug-seeking response can be seen to operate both serially and concurrently. The power of our analytic techniques for understanding complex motivated behavior has been evident for some time. However, the crucial point is that we are now able to map these components with increasing certainty onto discrete amygdaloid, and other limbic cortical-ventral striatal subsystems. The neural dissection of these mechanisms also serves an important theoretical purpose in helping to validate the various hypothetical constructs and further developing theory. Major challenges remain, not the least of which is an understanding of the operation of the ventral striatum together with its dopaminergic innervation and its interactions with the basolateral amygdala, hippocampal formation, and prefrontal cortex at a more mechanistic, neuronal level.

Involvement of NMDA and non-NMDA receptors in the neuronal responses of the primary motor cortex to input from the supplementary motor area and somatosensory cortex: studies of task-performing monkeys

The involvement of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) and non-NMDA glutamate receptors in mediating the excitatory responses of neurons in the primary motor cortex (MI) to electrical stimulation of the supplementary motor area (SMA) and the somatosensory cortex (SI) was examined in monkeys performing a trained motor task. During the task, a total of 109 MI neurons were identified and classified as movement related (91), motor set related (7), or mixed (11). Subsequently, the influence of receptor antagonists on the stimulus-evoked and task-related activities of these neurons was examined. The selective NMDA antagonist D-2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid (APV) and the selective non-NMDA antagonist 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (CNQX) were applied iontophoretically through multibarreled micropipettes. One barrel was used for extracellular unit recording. The excitatory response evoked by SI stimulation was suppressed by CNQX in the vast majority (83%) of the motor task related neurons, and only 10% were suppressed by APV. On the other hand, the response evoked by SMA stimulation was suppressed by APV in 56% of the neurons and by CNQX in 54%. APV and CNQX had parallel effects on the stimulus-evoked responses and the task-related neuronal activity. These results indicate that NMDA and non-NMDA receptors are both involved in mediating the excitatory responses of MI neurons to input from the SMA and SI. On the other hand, the data suggest a greater contribution of non-NMDA receptors in response to SI input and greater involvement of NMDA receptors in mediating the response to SMA input, especially among set-related MI neurons.

Conditioned reflex release of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens after disruption of the hippocampal formation in rats

Vital intracerebral microdialysis combined with HPLC with electrochemical detection was used to study changes in dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens during the development and realization of an emotional conditioned response in hooded rats with lesions to the hippocampal formation. These studies showed that one month after bilateral administration of ibotenic acid into the hippocampal formation, rats had weakened emotional responses to contextual stimuli. The process of development of the conditioned reflex was accompanied by higher-level and longer-lasting release of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens than in sham-operated rats. Dopamine release levels in the nucleus accumbens during realization of the conditioned reflex to contextual stimuli in rats with hippocampal lesions and sham-operated rats were identical.

A motivational learning hypothesis of the role of mesolimbic dopamine in compulsive drug use

The effects of drugs and substances of abuse on central dopamine (DA) transmission studied by in vivo monitoring techniques have been examined and compared with those of conventional reinforcers and in particular with food. The similarities and differences in the action of drugs and conventional reinforcers on DA transmission can provide the basis for an hypothesis of the mechanism of drug addiction and compulsive drug use. This hypothesis states that drug addiction is due to excessive control over behaviour exerted by drug-related stimuli as a result of abnormal motivational learning induced by repeated drug exposure. Such abnormal motivational learning would derive from the repetitive non-habituating property of drugs of abuse to activate DA transmission phasically in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) 'shell'. Thus, activation of DA transmission by conventional reinforcers is under strong inhibitory control by previous exposure to the reinforcer (habituation); this, however, is not the case with drug reinforcers. Repetitive, non-adaptive release of DA in the NAc 'shell' by drugs of abuse would result in abnormal strengthening of stimulus-reward (incentive learning) and stimulus-response associations (habit learning) that constitute the basis for craving and compulsive drug use.

Increased extracellular dopamine in the nucleus accumbens of the rat during associative learning of neutral stimuli

Brain microdialysis was used to study changes in dopamine in the nucleus accumbens and the dorsal striatum during associative learning between two neutral stimuli, flashing light and tone, presented on a paired schedule during stage 1 of a sensory preconditioning paradigm. The tone was subsequently paired with mild footshock using standard aversive conditioning procedures and the formation of a conditioned association between the flashing light and the tone in stage 1 was assessed by measuring the ability of the flashing light to elicit the same conditioned response as the tone when presented at test. The first experiment used behavioural monitoring only, to establish stimulus parameters for subsequent microdialysis experiments. Animals receiving paired presentation of the light and tone in stage 1 showed a conditioned suppression of licking to the light as well as to the tone, indicating that associative learning between the flashing light and the tone had occurred during stage 1, whilst in a separate group of animals given the same stimuli over the same time period but on an explicitly non-paired schedule, the conditioned emotional response was seen to the tone, but not to the light, showing that no association had been formed between the two stimuli during stage 1. In dialysis experiments using the same procedure, we measured a two-fold rise in dopamine in the nucleus accumbens during paired presentation of flashing light and tone, but not during non-paired presentation of the two stimuli. On subsequent test presentation of the two stimuli, we saw increases in accumbal dopamine on presentation of the tone in both groups, reflecting the formation of an association with the footshock in both. However the flashing light elicited an increase in dopamine only in the group which had received paired presentation at stage 1. Thus accumbal dopamine release at test is correlated to the ability of the stimulus to evoke a conditioned response measured behaviourally. Hypotheses of the behavioural function of the mesolimbic dopamine system centre on its role in mediating the effects of biological reinforcers, both rewarding and aversive, conditioned and unconditioned. The present results, showing increases in extracellular dopamine in the nucleus accumbens when an association is formed between two stimuli of which neither is a biological reinforcer nor, prior to formation of the association, affects dopamine levels, suggest a role for accumbal dopamine in the modulation of associative learning in general, not only that involving reinforcement.

Dissociations in dopamine release in medial prefrontal cortex and ventral striatum during the acquisition and extinction of classical aversive conditioning in the rat

Dual perfusion in vivo brain microdialysis was used to monitor extracellular levels of dopamine in the medial prefrontal cortex and ventral striatum during the acquisition and extinction of a classical aversive conditioning paradigm in rats. The main finding was a dissociation in the pattern of release in the two brain areas. The first stimulus-footshock pairing elicited large increases in cortical dopamine over baseline levels that were much greater than the increases elicited by different stimuli of equivalent salience that were unpaired with footshock. In contrast, dopamine levels in ventral striatum were unchanged under these conditions. Over the next two pairings, there was a decline in the cortical response and an increase in the response in ventral striatum. The first presentation of the aversive conditioned stimulus in a separate context elicited the largest response in ventral striatum. Post-conditioning, the cortical response to the conditioned stimulus was smaller than that elicited by the initial stimulus-footshock pairing and was equivalent in magnitude to that elicited by stimuli unpaired with footshock. Over the final two conditioned stimuli presentations, in the absence of the footshock reinforcer (extinction), responses declined in both brain areas. Simultaneous monitoring of behaviour indicated that the neurochemical events were accompanied by effective aversive learning, as indexed by conditioned freezing responses. The data are discussed in terms of the hypothesis that medial prefrontal cortex is especially engaged during novel circumstances which may, potentially, require new learning, whilst ventral striatal dopamine more closely follows the expression of conditioned responding during learning and extinction.

gamma-Aminobutyric acid levels in the intercellular space in the nucleus accumbens of the rat brain during a nociceptive conditioned response

Studies on Lister rats, using intracerebral dialysis in behaving animals combined with high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection, showed that the development and realization of an emotional conditioned response were accompanied by increases in the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels in the extracellular space of the medial part of the nucleus accumbens. Regression analysis demonstrated that measures of investigative behavior (horizontal movements, rearings, and sniffing and grooming times) during quenching of the emotional conditioned response (but not on presentation of the experimental chamber to control rats) correlated with individual changes in the extracellular GABA levels in the nucleus accumbens. Thus, this is the first report of in vivo recording of changes in GABA levels in the extracellular space of the brain during realization of normal behavior.

Differential influence of associative and nonassociative learning mechanisms on the responsiveness of prefrontal and accumbal dopamine transmission to food stimuli in rats fed ad libitum

Feeding a novel food (Fonzies) to rats fed ad libitum with standard food increased extracellular dopamine (DA) in the medial prefrontal cortex (PFCX) and in the medial nucleus accumbens (NAc). Previous Fonzies feeding, although it did not affect the increase of extracellular DA in the PFCX in response to Fonzies feeding, blunted that increase in the NAc (habituation); recovery from habituation in the NAc was complete 5 d after previous Fonzies feeding. Predictive association of an otherwise neutral stimulus extrinsic to Fonzies (empty plastic box) with Fonzies feeding resulted in the acquisition by the stimulus of the property to elicit incentive responses directed toward the stimulus and to increase extracellular DA in the PFCX. However, the same stimulus, or a more complex stimulus including intrinsic stimuli (Fonzies-filled plastic box), failed to acquire the ability to modify extracellular DA in the NAc. Pseudoconditioning, i.e., nonpredictive association of the extrinsic stimulus (empty box) with Fonzies feeding, did not result in acquisition by the stimulus of the property to elicit incentive responses and to increase extracellular DA in the PFCX. Repeated nonreinforced presentation of previously conditioned extrinsic stimuli (empty box) resulted in extinction of the property to elicit incentive responses and to increase extracellular DA in the PFCX. These results indicate that in rats fed ad libitum, phasic activation of mesocortical and mesolimbic DA systems by motivational stimuli is differentially influenced by associative (conditioning) and nonassociative (habituation) learning mechanisms and is differentially related to acquisition and expression of incentive motivation.

NMDA receptors in nucleus accumbens modulate stress-induced dopamine release in nucleus accumbens and ventral tegmental area

Converging evidence suggests that dopamine (DA) transmission in nucleus accumbens (NAcc) is modulated locally by an excitatory amino acid (EAA)-containing input possibly originating in medial prefrontal cortex (PFC). In the present study, we examined the effects of intra-NAcc administration of EAA receptor antagonists on stress-induced increases of NAcc DA levels and of dendritically released DA in the ventral tegmental area (VTA). Local injection of the NMDA receptor antagonist-AP-5 (0.05, 0.5, and 5.0 nmoles)-dose-dependently potentiated increases in NAcc DA levels elicited by 15 min of restraint stress. In contrast, local application of equivalent doses of the kainate/AMPA receptor antagonist-DNQX-failed to alter the NAcc DA stress response reliably. In a separate experiment, we found that intra-NAcc injection of AP-5 also potentiated stress-induced increases in VTA DA levels. These results indicate that EAAs acting at NMDA receptors in NAcc can modulate stress-induced DA release in this region. Our data indicate, however, that this action exerts an inhibitory influence on the NAcc DA stress response, suggesting that the relevant population of NMDA receptors are not located on NAcc DA terminals. The fact that intra-NAcc AP-5 injections also potentiated the DA stress response in VTA suggests instead an action mediated by NMDA receptors located on NAcc neurons that feedback, directly or indirectly, to cell bodies of the mesocorticolimbic DA system.

NMDA receptor antagonists prevent conditioned activation of intracranial self-stimulation in rats

Rats with bipolar electrodes implanted unilaterally into the ventral tegmental area were trained to lever-press for response contingent electrical stimulation (continuous reinforcement). After preliminary lever-press training, two types of daily sessions were held on 10 consecutive days: type T+, during which current intensity was set at the Threshold level and each response was accompanied by the visual signal (stimulus lights above the lever briefly went off); and type ST-, during which current was set at the SubThreshold level and there were no visual stimuli. On day 11, combination of the subthreshold current intensities and stimulus lights previously associated with the threshold stimulation (session type ST+) resulted in significantly elevated response rates compared to the performance under the subthreshold current without visual stimuli (session type ST-). This effect was dose dependently blocked by competitive NMDA receptor antagonist (+/-)-CPP ((+/-)-3-(2-carboxypiperazin-4-yl)-propyl-1-phosphonic acid) and CGS 19755 (cis-4-(phosphonomethyl) piperidine-2-carboxylic acid). The present findings suggest that the activation of intracranial self-stimulation induced by a conditioned visual stimulus is dependent on the NMDA receptor functioning.

Release of [3H]dopamine from striatal and cerebral cortical slices from rats with thioacetamide-induced hepatic encephalopathy: different responses to stimulation by potassium ions and agonists of ionotropic glutamate receptors

The effects of depolarizing stimuli; high (50 mM) potassium ions and the glutamate receptor agonists N-methyl-D-aspartate, kainate and 2-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionate (AMPA) on the release of newly-loaded [3H]dopamine were studied in frontal cortical and striatal slices from control rats and from rats with acute hepatic encephalopathy induced with a hepatotoxin, thioacetamide. Hepatic encephalopathy enhanced the stimulatory effect of potassium ions by 20% in striatal slices and by 34% in frontal cortical slices. In striatal slices the stimulatory effects of N-methyl-D-aspartate and kainate were depressed in hepatic encephalopathy by 46% and 21%, respectively, which may be taken to reflect impaired modulation of striatal dopamine release by glutamate acting at N-methyl-D-aspartate or kainate receptors. In frontal cortical slices, the stimulatory effect of kainate was enhanced by 35% in hepatic encephalopathy but N-methyl-D-aspartate-stimulated release was not affected. The release evoked by 2-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionate was not affected in hepatic encephalopathy in either brain region. Stimulation of dopamine release in the frontal cortex by depolarization or glutamate acting at kainate receptors could inhibit the activity of descending corticostriatal glutamatergic pathways, further impairing regulation of dopamine release by glutamate in the striatum.

Feeding-evoked dopamine release in the nucleus, accumbens: regulation by glutamatergic mechanisms

The extent to which glutamate receptors in the nucleus accumbens and ventral tegmental area regulate feeding-evoked increases in dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens was determined using in vivo brain microdialysis in the rat. In some animals a second dialysis probe was implanted in the ventral tegmental area ipsilateral to the nucleus accumbens probe. The feeding protocol involved access to standard rat chow after 18 h of food deprivation. Under these conditions rats began eating approximately 30 s after the introduction of food and consumed 7-8 g, resulting in a 50% increase in dopamine release. Application of the glutamate receptor antagonist kynurenate (1 mM) in the nucleus accumbens potentiated the feeding-evoked increase in dopamine release by 80%. Application of the metabotropic glutamate receptor agonist trans-1S,3R-1-amino-1,3-cyclopentanedicarboxylic acid (100 microM) in the nucleus accumbens blocked the feeding-evoked increase in dopamine release. Application of a combination of the ionotropic glutamate receptor antagonists 2-amino-5-phosphopentanoic acid (200 microM) and 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (50 microM) through the dialysis probe in the ventral tegmental area reduced basal dopamine output in the nucleus accumbens by 20% and markedly attenuated (by 70%) the effect of feeding on dopamine release. None of the treatments affected the latency to eat or the volume of food consumed. These results indicate that glutamatergic afferents to the ventral tegmental area mediate feeding-induced increases in dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens. In contrast, at physiological concentrations, glutamate in the nucleus accumbens appears to decrease dopamine release via actions on ionotropic and metabotropic receptors.

The nature of interactions involving prefrontal and striatal dopamine systems

A number of converging lines of evidence from work in rodents suggest that dopamine (DA) function in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and striatal terminal fields may be linked, possibly in an 'inverse' manner, whereby a change in prefrontal dopamine transmission in one direction occasions an opposite change in dopamine function in striatal territories. The present article considers the possible functional importance of this concept in the light of recent neuroanatomical data and new data from our own laboratory indicating that, at the neurochemical level, the basic finding of an inverse relationship between dopamine function in prefrontal and striatal regions also holds good in the non-human primate. The main conclusion is that the simple idea of an inverse relationship between prefrontal and striatal dopamine systems emphasizing presynaptic release mechanisms is unlikely to underlie, solely, the full repertoire of functional interactions. Whilst there is evidence consistent with dynamic interactions between prefrontal and striatal dopamine release under some circumstances, specifically, during the early phases of aversive learning, a complete account of possible interactions between prefrontal and striatal dopamine systems requires consideration of additional factors. Such factors include: (1) the precise nature of the psychological function investigated, (2) the possibility of acute, localized changes in striatal postsynaptic function secondary to changes in presynaptic function and (3) the possibility of manipulations of prefrontal cortex leading to adaptive changes in striatal function, at a diffuse, neural systems level.

Ultrastructural immunocytochemical localization of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor and tyrosine hydroxylase in the shell of the rat nucleus accumbens

The N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-type glutamate receptors in the shell region of the nucleus accumbens (ACB) have been implicated in the modulation of dopamine release and in amphetamine-induced neurotoxicity. We used electron microscopic immunocyto-chemistry to determine the anatomical sites for NMDA-mediated effects of glutamate and for their potential interactions with dopaminergic afferents identified by the presence of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) in this region of the rat brain. Immunogold and immunoperoxidase methods were used to localize antisera against the R1 subunit of the NMDA receptor (NMDAR1) alone or combined with TH. In single labeling experiments, approximately half of the NMDAR1-like immunoreactivity (NMDAR1-LI) was localized to extrasynaptic plasma membranes of neuronal processes, many (92 out of 215) of which were dendrites, and only 33 out of 215 were unmyelinated axons or terminals. Surprisingly, the neuronal labeling of NMDAR1 was almost equaled by that seen in astrocytic processes (88 out of 215). Dual labeling for TH and NMDAR1 was rarely observed and was only seen in axons. However, in favorable planes of section, NMDAR1 was noted along intervaricose segments of axons in which TH was more readily seen in the varicosity. This differential intra-axonal distribution suggests an underestimation of dual labeling in single coronal sections through unmyelinated axons and terminals. The TH-immunoreactive terminals were more often seen apposed to NMDA-immunoreactive astrocytic processes and dendrites. These results provide the first ultrastructural evidence for presynaptic modulation of dopamine release by NMDA receptors in the shell of the nucleus accumbens. They also indicate that NMDA receptors modulate postsynaptic neurons receiving input from the dopaminergic afferents and suggest a previously unsuspected functional association involving glial NMDA receptors and dopaminergic afferents in this brain region.

Extracellular glutamate in the nucleus accumbens during a conditioned emotional response in the rat

In vivo microdialysis combined with HPLC-EC analysis was used to monitor extracellular glutamate and GABA in the medial nucleus accumbens of Lister hooded rats during acquisition and expression of a conditioned emotional response. Footshock paired with tone (acquisition of conditioned emotional response) causes a significant decrease in extracellular glutamate during the period of footshock followed by a marked, but short lasting increase when the rats return to their home cage. Expression of the conditioned emotional response on exposure to the contextual cue produces no change in glutamate during exposure to the contextual cue, but a short lasting increase after. Thus, both the conditioned emotional response and footshock are associated with marked, but short lasting, increases in extracellular glutamate in the nucleus accumbens which, in both cases, occurred after the aversive stimuli, i.e., when the rats are returned to their home cage. In contrast, when control rats are exposed to the testing box without giving footshock there is an increase in extracellular glutamate during the exposure period and this is accompanied by exploratory behaviour. The conditioned emotional response (contextual cue), footshock and exposure of the control rats to the test box all resulted in increased extracellular GABA during exposure to the test situation. These results suggest that increases in extracellular glutamate in the medial nucleus accumbens caused by the conditioned emotional response or footshock are probably associated with relief from, rather than response to danger.