Differential involvement of prelimbic and infralimbic medial prefrontal cortex in discrete cue-induced reinstatement of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA; ecstasy) seeking in rats.
Psychopharmacology December 1, 2012 Kevin T. Ball, Mylissa Slane
Inactivating a specific part of the prefrontal cortex in rats completely blocked cue-triggered relapse to MDMA (ecstasy) seeking. The prelimbic (PL) subregion of the medial prefrontal cortex is necessary for this relapse behavior, while the neighboring infralimbic (IL) subregion is not. This mirrors the neural mechanism seen in cocaine relapse, suggesting a common brain pathway for drug-seeking reinstatement across different substances. The effect was specific to drug-seeking and not due to general motor impairment, as food-seeking behavior remained unaffected.