# Cocaine: effects on single neurons

> **NIH NIH R01** · OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $385,000

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
The role of dopamine in health and disease has been investigated for decades. Dopamine
receptor agonists or antagonists are used for the treatment diseases such as schizophrenia,
depression, attention deficit disorder and Parkinson's disease. Recent work also indicates that
the altered regulation of dopamine release induced by many drugs of abuse play a critical role
in early processes linked to early aspects of addiction. Thus knowledge of the physiological role
of endogenous dopamine in the central nervous system is necessary.
This proposal uses recordings from dopamine neurons of the Substantia Nigra in brain slices
from mouse to (1) Identify the distribution of D2 receptors on distinct dendritic projections. (2)
Define sites of dopamine release, determine the time course of the presence of dopamine in the
extracellular space following synaptic release and the time course of the dopamine/D2-
receptor interaction that underlies the inhibitory postsynaptic potential. (3) Characterize
plasticity of D2-receptors focusing on heterologous desensitization between GPCRs and the
acute application of cocaine. Finally, future experiments will determine how D2-receptor
function and distribution are altered following treatment of animals with cocaine. The results
of this study will form a connection between D2 receptor dependent synaptic events and the
early events following treatment with cocaine. This knowledge will add to the decades long
search for an understanding of the role of dopamine in health and disease.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10477189
- **Project number:** 5R01DA004523-34
- **Recipient organization:** OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** John T Williams
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $385,000
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1987-07-01 → 2026-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10477189

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10477189, Cocaine: effects on single neurons (5R01DA004523-34). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10477189. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*