BACKGROUND: The orexigenic peptide ghrelin activates the reward systems, specifically
the cholinergic–dopaminergic reward link, suggesting that ghrelin may increase the
incentive salience of motivated behaviours such as food seeking. Moreover, central ghrelin
signalling, involving the growth hormone secretagogue receptor 1A (GHS-R1A), is required
for the rewarding properties, as measured by locomotor stimulation, accumbal dopamine
release and conditioned place preference, of alcohol, cocaine as well as amphetamine. As …

Introduction Recently we demonstrated that genetic or pharmacological suppression of the
central ghrelin signaling system, involving the growth hormone secretagogue receptor 1A
(GHS-R1A), lead to a reduced reward profile from alcohol. As the target circuits for ghrelin in
the brain include a mesolimbic reward pathway that is intimately associated with reward-
seeking behaviour, we sought to determine whether the central ghrelin signaling system is
required for reward from drugs of abuse other than alcohol, namely cocaine or …