Activation of PPAR γ modulates the mesolimbic dopamine transmission and attenuates alcohol drinking in alcohol-preferring rats

The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR γ is one of the three isoforms of the PPARs family, known for its role in adipogenesis and glucose metabolism. An interesting hint come from the discovery of PPARγ in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopaminergic neurons (Sarruf et al., 2009) which suggest a potential role of this receptor in the regulation of reward processing and motivated behavior in drug addiction. Furthermore, evidences demonstrated that pioglitazone, a selective agonist of PPARγ suppress alcohol drinking and relapse to alcohol seeking in msP alcohol-preferring rats (Stopponi et al., 2011).
Source: Alcohol - Category: Addiction Authors: Source Type: research