Relapse to cocaine-seeking after hippocampal theta burst stimulation

Treatment efforts for cocaine addiction are hampered by high relapse rates. To map brain areas underlying relapse, we used electrical brain stimulatio n and intracranial injection of pharmacological compounds after extinction of cocaine self-administration behavior in rats. Electrical stimulation of the hippocampus containing glutamatergic fibers, but not the medial forebra in bundle containing dopaminergic fibers, elicited cocaine-seeking behavior dependent on glutamate in the ventral tegmental area. This suggests a role for glutamatergic neurotransmission in relapse to cocaine abuse. The media l forebrain bundle electrodes supported intense electrical self-stimulation . These findings suggest a dissociation of neural systems subserving positi ve reinforcement (self-stimulation) and incentive motivation (relapse).