Differential roles of oxytocin receptors in the prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens on cocaine self-administration and reinstatement of cued cocaine seeking in male rats.

This study provides critical new information about how endogenous OxyRs function to impact drug seeking in response to different precipitators of relapse. The tool developed to knockdown OxyRs in rat could provide important new insights that aid development of oxytocin-based therapeutics to reduce return to use episodes in people with substance use disorder and other neuropsychiatric disorders.