The selective dopamine D₃ receptor antagonist SB-277011A attenuates drug- or food-deprivation reactivation of expression of conditioned place preference for cocaine in male Sprague-Dawley rats.

We determined the effect of the selective dopamine D3 receptor antagonist SB-277011A on reactivation of conditioned place preference (CPP) to cocaine elicited by priming injections of cocaine or exposure to food deprivation stress (21 h) in male Sprague-Dawley rats. Animals paired with the cocaine-associated chamber displayed a robust and consistent CPP response. This CPP was extinguished after repeated pairings of the conditioned stimuli (cocaine-paired chamber contextual cues) in the absence of the unconditioned stimulus (cocaine). Twenty-four hours later, the administration of 5 mg kg(-1) i.p. of cocaine (immediately before the test) or exposure to 21 h of food deprivation reactivated the expression of the cocaine-induced CPP. In contrast, administration of 1 ml kg(-1) i.p. of vehicle did not reactivate the CPP response. Administration of the selective dopamine D3 receptor antagonist SB-277011A (3-24 mg kg(-1) i.p.) 30 min before cocaine administration on the test day produced a significant attenuation of CPP reactivation. Reactivation of the CPP response produced by food deprivation was also significantly attenuated by SB-277011A (6 or 12 mg kg(-1) i.p.) given 30 min before the test session. SB-277011A (12 or 24 mg kg(-1) i.p.) did not itself produce reactivation of the CPP response. Overall, these results suggest that the reactivation of the incentive value of drug-associated cues by cocaine or food deprivation is attenuated by selective antagonism of D3 receptors.