Authors: Jonathan Dickerson, Christian Ahrens, Zach Valentine, Sara Linderman, Hillary Wadsworth, Lauren Ford, Jordan Yorgason
Mentors: Jordan Yorgason
Insitution: Brigham Young University
The nucleus accumbens (NAc) is a major component of the reward pathway in the brain. The role of ATP as a neurotransmitter within the NAc has largely remained unstudied. Multiple experiments have hinted at larger roles ATP may have in other areas of the brain, but not yet in the NAc to our knowledge. Our goal was to characterize ATP release in the NAc, in an attempt to pave the way to finding novel methods for treating/preventing addiction. Fast-scan cyclic voltammetry (FSCV) was used to track ATP and dopamine release in the NAc of mouse brains, evoked with electrical stimulations before and after application of various drugs. Blocking nAChR’s and NaV channels reduced both ATP and dopamine release. Blocking DAT’s enhanced release, but blocked clearance of both ATP and dopamine, and activating the immune system with LPS increased release of both ATP and dopamine. Changes in dopamine and ATP release after drug application were definitely correlated, but not proportionally so. While in some instances, the same mechanisms previously thought to work just with one neurotransmitter or the other had effects on both, changes in ATP signaling cannot be fully explained by dopaminergic machinery in the NAc.