“However, the rewarding effects of cocaine were attenuated in mice pretreated with Ex-4 (Ex-4/Cocaine group, regardless of pretreatment dose), suggesting that Ex-4 reduces the hedonic effects of cocaine.”
“It is thus likely that Ex-4 blunts cocaine CPP by targeting GLP-1Rs within the NAc or ventral midbrain.”
“Moreover, even the lowest dose of Ex-4 used (10 µg/kg) produced a blunted cocaine CPP response, suggesting a GLP-1R-dependent mechanism involved in drug reward in addition to those already known involving neurotransmitters (e.g., dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, glutamate, and the opioids).”
“We show that administration of exendin-4 attenuates the rewarding effects of cocaine in mice, thus highlighting the therapeutic potential of GLP-1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonists for the treatment of psychostimulant addiction.”