rats (Leong et al., 2016). Likewise, direct infusion of OXT into NAc (Weber et al., 2018) and the subthalamic nucleus (STN), a downstream projection of the NAc (Leong et al., 2017), attenuated cocaine-seeking behavior. Both peripheral and central (icv) administration of OXT was effective in reducing cue- and drug-primed cocaine-or methamphetamine-seeking in both male and female rats, and the attenuation of this behavior was not dependent on cycle (Bentzley et al., 2014, Carson et al., 2010a, Cox et al., 2017, Cox et al., 2013, Leong et al., 2017, Leong et al., 2016, Weber et al., 2018, Zhou et al., 2014). Interestingly, repeated daily OXT (1mg/kg) treatment during adolescence attenuated methamphetamine-primed reinstatement during adulthood in female rats (Hicks et al., 2016). Similarly, repeated dosing of OXT (15 days; 1mg/kg, ip.) during a 30-day abstinence period from methamphetamine self-administration attenuated methamphetamine-primed reinstatement in both male and female rats (Everett et al., 2019). Though very few published studies have investigated the effects of OXT administration on reinstatement of alcohol-seeking behavior, central administration (icv.) of OXT was shown to reduced cue-induced alcohol relapse-like behavior in alcohol-dependent rats, but not in non-dependent rats (Hansson et al., 2018).
