Dopamine receptor signaling in the medial orbital frontal cortex and the acquisition and expression of fructose-conditioned flavor preferences in rats

• Fructose conditioned flavor preferences (FCFP).
• Medial orbitofrontal cortex (MOFC) dopamine D2 antagonism reduced FCFP expression.
• Dorsolateral prefrontal D2 antagonism failed to affect FCFP expression.
• MOFC dopamine D1 antagonism failed to affect FCFP expression.
• FCFP acquisition was unaffected by MOFC D1 and D2 antagonists.

Systemic dopamine (DA) D1 (SCH23390: SCH) and D2 (raclopride: RAC) antagonists blocked fructose-conditioned flavor preference (CFP) acquisition and expression. Fructose-CFP acquisition was eliminated by medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) SCH and mPFC or amygdala (AMY) RAC. Fructose-CFP expression was reduced following SCH or RAC in AMY or nucleus accumbens (NAc). The present study examined fructose-CFP acquisition and expression following SCH and RAC in the medial orbital frontal cortex (MOFC), another ventral tegmental area DA target. For fructose-CFP acquisition, five groups of rats received vehicle, SCH (24 or 48 nmol) or RAC (24 or 48 nmol) in the MOFC 0.5 h prior to 8 training sessions with one flavor (CS+/Fs) mixed in 8% fructose and 0.2% saccharin, and another flavor (CS−/s) mixed in 0.2% saccharin. In six 2-bottle choice tests in 0.2% saccharin, similar fructose-CFP preferences occurred in groups trained with vehicle (76–77%), SCH24 (69–78%), SCH48 (70–74%) and RAC48 (85–92%). RAC24-trained rats displayed significant CS+ preferences during the first (79%) and third (71%), but not second (58%) test pair. For fructose-CFP expression, rats similarly trained with CS+/Fs and CS− solutions received 2-bottle choice tests following MOFC injections of SCH or RAC (12–48 nmol). CS+ preference expression was significantly reduced by RAC (48 nmol: 58%), but not SCH relative to vehicle (78%). A control group receiving RAC in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex displayed fructose-CFP expression similar to vehicle. These data demonstrate differential frontal cortical DA mediation of fructose-CFP with mPFC D1 and D2 signaling exclusively mediating acquisition, and MOFC D2 signaling primarily mediating expression.