GIRK Channels: A Potential Link Between Learning and Addiction

Int Rev Neurobiol. 2015:123:239-77. doi: 10.1016/bs.irn.2015.05.012.

Abstract

The ability of drug-associated cues to reinitiate drug craving and seeking, even after long periods of abstinence, has led to the hypothesis that addiction represents a form of pathological learning, in which drugs of abuse hijack normal learning and memory processes to support long-term addictive behaviors. In this chapter, we review evidence suggesting that G protein-gated inwardly rectifying potassium (GIRK/Kir3) channels are one mechanism through which numerous drugs of abuse can modulate learning and memory processes. We will examine the role of GIRK channels in two forms of experience-dependent long-term changes in neuronal function: homeostatic plasticity and synaptic plasticity. We will also discuss how drug-induced changes in GIRK-mediated signaling can lead to changes that support the development and maintenance of addiction.

Keywords: Addiction; Depotentiation; GIRK; Homeostatic plasticity; Kir3; Learning; Memory; Synaptic plasticity.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Behavior, Addictive / metabolism*
  • G Protein-Coupled Inwardly-Rectifying Potassium Channels / metabolism*
  • Humans
  • Learning / physiology*
  • Neuronal Plasticity / physiology
  • Neurons / metabolism
  • Substance-Related Disorders / metabolism*

Substances

  • G Protein-Coupled Inwardly-Rectifying Potassium Channels