PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Deanna L Wallace AU - Vincent Vialou AU - Loretta Rios AU - Tiffany L. Carle-Florence AU - Sumana Chakravarty AU - Arvind Kumar AU - Danielle L. Graham AU - Thomas A. Green AU - Anne Kirk AU - Sergio D. Iñiguez AU - Linda I. Perrotti AU - Michel Barrot AU - Ralph J. DiLeone AU - Eric J. Nestler AU - Carlos A. Bolaños-Guzmán TI - The Influence of ΔFosB in the Nucleus Accumbens on Natural Reward-Related Behavior AID - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1531-08.2008 DP - 2008 Oct 08 TA - The Journal of Neuroscience PG - 10272--10277 VI - 28 IP - 41 4099 - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/28/41/10272.short 4100 - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/28/41/10272.full SO - J. Neurosci.2008 Oct 08; 28 AB - The transcription factor deltaFosB (ΔFosB), induced in nucleus accumbens (NAc) by chronic exposure to drugs of abuse, has been shown to mediate sensitized responses to these drugs. However, less is known about a role for ΔFosB in regulating responses to natural rewards. Here, we demonstrate that two powerful natural reward behaviors, sucrose drinking and sexual behavior, increase levels of ΔFosB in the NAc. We then use viral-mediated gene transfer to study how such ΔFosB induction influences behavioral responses to these natural rewards. We demonstrate that overexpression of ΔFosB in the NAc increases sucrose intake and promotes aspects of sexual behavior. In addition, we show that animals with previous sexual experience, which exhibit increased ΔFosB levels, also show an increase in sucrose consumption. This work suggests that ΔFosB is not only induced in the NAc by drugs of abuse, but also by natural rewarding stimuli. Additionally, our findings show that chronic exposure to stimuli that induce ΔFosB in the NAc can increase consumption of other natural rewards.