The primary site of action of cocaine is the nucleus accumbens and the rest of the striatum [47,62,63]. Kal7 is expressed in almost all of the neurons in the dorsal striatum and nucleus accumbens that express the D1 receptor, but its expression is not limited to this population of neurons. Since medium spiny neurons expressing the D1 dopamine receptor and the D2 dopamine receptor receive different excitatory glutamatergic inputs and are part of very different functional pathways [34], examining the role of Kal7 in the effects of cocaine on both neuronal populations will be important. Whether expression of high levels of Kal7 in giant aspiny striatal cholinergic interneurons [36,63] plays an important role in the actions of cocaine will require additional studies.
