Chapter 1 The cellular framework for chemical signalling in the nucleus accumbens

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This chapter discusses some of the morphological and electrophysiological features of the nucleus accumbens paying particular attention to the predominant neuron— that is, the spiny projection cell. This chapter describes the synaptic and functional relationships of certain neurotransmitter systems— that is, GABA, glutamate, dopamine, and acetylcholine. The functional aspects of modulatory peptides are equally relevant, but relatively few studies have been dedicated to understanding these systems. Only the role of enkephalins is discussed. The possible and relevant, connectional, neurochemical, and functional differences between shell and core neurons are highlighted in order to provide a cellular basis for distinguishing the two regions. Unfortunately, only a few studies have explicitly noted the part of the nucleus under analysis, which makes the assignment of features to either shell or core difficult. The precise delineation of shell and core should prove invaluable to many research disciplines investigating nucleus accumbens. On the basis of the distribution of naloxone-binding sites, substance P immunoreactivity and hippocampal innervation patterns, the rostra1 pole of nucleus accumbens has been assigned primarily to the shell for the purposes of this review. However, more research is needed to determine whether the demarcation of shell and core, as proposed in the chapter, reflects a functional partitioning. Electrophysiological and behavioral approaches to the shell-core distinction are still in their infancy, but will nevertheless, be crucial for gaining an understanding of such functional differences.

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