Large-scale reorganization of DNA methylation and upregulation of extracellular matrix genes in the dorsal dentate gyrus following cocaine taking

Repeated cocaine induces neuroplasticity in brain circuits that encode reward-associated context. The dorsal hippocampus, particularly the dorsal dentate gyrus, plays a critical role in the initial encoding and early consolidation of contextual memories, thus, is uniquely positioned to undergo cocaine-induced neuroplasticity and associated epigenomic and transcriptomic changes during volitional drug-taking. We report that cocaine self-administration in male mice produces significant DNA methylation changes (> 10%, q