Repeated microinjections into the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) impair extinction of conditioned place preference in mice

The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is important for extinction of many behaviors including conditioned place preference (CPP). We examined the effects of intra-mPFC inactivation (with bupivacaine) on extinction of ethanol-induced CPP in mice. Injections of both bupivacaine and vehicle impaired extinction whereas no-surgery control mice extinguished normally. Consistent with recently reported effects of mPFC lesions, these data suggest that extinction was impaired by excessive mPFC damage induced by repeated intracranial infusions.