There is some evidence to suggest OXT interreacts with the glutamatergic system, through OXTRs located on astrocytes (Dolen et al., 2013) within the NAc to modulate drug-seeking behavior. In support of these mechanism, mGlur2/3 receptor antagonism reversed the attenuating effect of OXT on cocaine and methamphetamine-seeking behavior (Bernheim et al., 2017, Weber et al., 2018). Further, Qi and colleagues demonstrated that pretreatment with OXT reduced stress-induced, but not methamphetamine-primed, increases in glutamate levels in mPFC of mice during methamphetamine place-preference reinstatement testing (Qi et al., 2009).
