Cocaine Disinhibits Dopamine Neurons by Potentiation of GABA Transmission in the Ventral Tegmental Area

Drugs, Dopamine, and Disinhibition Drugs often change the neuronal circuitry in the brain and thereby cause a long-lasting change in behavior. Using a wide range of in vivo and in vitro techniques in mice, Bocklisch et al. (p. 1521 ) observed that cocaine profoundly altered dopamine neuron function and that drug-evoked synaptic plasticity in a specific set of neurons represents a crucial step in circuit...