Abstract
Contribution to Special Issue on Fast effects of steroids. Estrogen receptors α and β (ERα and ERβ) have a unique relationship with metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) in the female rodent brain such that estradiol is able to recruit intracellular G-protein signaling cascades to influence neuronal physiology, structure, and ultimately behavior. While this association between ERs and mGluRs exists in many cell types and brain regions, its effects are perhaps most striking in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). This review will discuss the original characterization of ER/mGluR signaling and how estradiol activity in the NAc confers increased sensitivity to drugs of abuse in females through this mechanism.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 130-137 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Hormones and Behavior |
Volume | 104 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Aug 2018 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2018 Elsevier Inc.
Keywords
- Brain
- Drug addiction
- Estrogen receptors
- mGluR