NIH R01 · 2025
Aberrant Synaptic Plasticity in Cocaine Use Disorder: A 11C UCB J PET Study
Abstract In seminal preclinical studies nearly 20 years ago, Robinson & Kolb [1, 2] demonstrated enduring changes in synaptic (dendritic spine) density in medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of rodents following behaviorally sensitizing regimens of cocaine. Their findings suggested a potentially important pathophysiological mechanism – aberrant structural synaptic plasticity – whereby cocaine might produce the chronic, recalcitrant behaviors (e.g., craving, compulsive use, and relapse) so seemingly ‘hard-wired’ in those suffering from the disorder. Our group has developed a novel radiotracer, 11C-UCB-J, for imaging synaptic density (i.e., synaptic vesicle glycoprotein type 2A or SV2A…
From the public funding record at NIH RePORTER. Describes the funded project, not the reviews below.