Involvement of NMDA glutamate receptors in the acquisition and reinstatement of the conditioned place preference induced by MDMA
Behavioural Pharmacology May 14, 2015 María Pilar García-pardo, Carla Escobar-Valero, Marta Rodrı́guez-arias et al. 29 citations
Blocking NMDA glutamate receptors with memantine prevents mice from learning to prefer a place associated with MDMA (ecstasy) and also prevents a single dose of MDMA from re-establishing that preference after it has been extinguished. Memantine did not block preference for a chocolate-associated place and only partly reversed MDMA's memory-impairing effects. The results suggest that NMDA receptors are critical for both the initial rewarding effect of MDMA and for relapse-like behavior, indicating memantine as a potential treatment for MDMA abuse.