ORBITOFRONTAL CORTEX ASSOCIATED CIRCUITS IN INCUBATION OF OXYCODONE CRAVING

Abstract

Oxycodone seeking progressively increases over time during abstinence and persists for an extended period, a phenomenon known as “incubation of oxycodone craving”. We previously demonstrated a critical role of orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) in incubation of oxycodone craving after forced abstinence. For my dissertation, we began to explore the role of OFC-associated circuits in this incubation. By employing various methodologies, we identified two major regions that interact with OFC, dorsal striatum (DS) as the critical downstream output and submedius thalamus (Sub) as the key region that reciprocally connects with OFC in incubation of oxycodone craving. Our work indicated that OFC-centered network serves as the hallmark in opioid addiction, and investigation on the role of this network will provide potential circuit-based targets for future treatments.