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Han C, Manners MT, Robinson SA. Sex differences in opioid response: a role for the gut microbiome? Front Pharmacol 2024; 15:1455416. [PMID: 39268474 PMCID: PMC11390522 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1455416] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2024] [Accepted: 08/14/2024] [Indexed: 09/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Opioid drugs have been long known to induce different responses in males compared to females, however, the molecular mechanisms underlying these effects are yet to be fully characterized. Recent studies have established a link between the gut microbiome and behavioral responses to opioids. Chronic opioid use is associated with gut dysbiosis, or microbiome disruptions, which is thought to contribute to altered opioid analgesia and reward processing. Gut microbiome composition and functioning have also been demonstrated to be influenced by sex hormones. Despite this, there is currently very little work investigating whether sex differences in the gut microbiome mediate sex-dependent responses to opioids, highlighting a critical gap in the literature. Here, we briefly review the supporting evidence implicating a potential role for the gut microbiome in regulating sexually dimorphic opioid response and identify areas for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caitlin Han
- Department of Psychology, Williams College, Williamstown, MA, United States
| | - Melissa T. Manners
- Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ, United States
| | - Shivon A. Robinson
- Department of Psychology, Williams College, Williamstown, MA, United States
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2
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Patarino M, Wang ZC, Wong K, Lee SJ, Skillen E, Nag R, Baskin B, Schindler AG. Anxiety and risk-taking behavior maps onto opioid and alcohol polysubstance consumption patterns in male and female mice. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.08.22.609245. [PMID: 39229006 PMCID: PMC11370560 DOI: 10.1101/2024.08.22.609245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/05/2024]
Abstract
Polysubstance use is prevalent in the population but remains understudied in preclinical models. Alcohol and opioid polysubstance use is associated with negative outcomes, worse treatment prognosis, and higher overdose risk; but underlying mechanisms are still being uncovered. Examining factors that motivate use of one substance over another in different contexts in preclinical models will better our understanding of polysubstance use and improve translational value. Here we assessed baseline anxiety-like and locomotive behavior and then measured voluntary consumption of multiple doses of alcohol and fentanyl in group housed male and female mice using our novel Socially Integrated Polysubstance (SIP) system. Fifty-six male (n=32) and female (n=24) adult mice were housed in groups of 4 for one week with continuous access to food, water, two doses of ethanol (5% and 10%) and two doses of fentanyl (5 ug/ml and 20 ug/ml). Our analyses revealed sex differences across multiple domains - female mice consumed more liquid in the dark cycle, had higher activity, a higher preference for both ethanol and fentanyl over water, and their fentanyl preference increased over the seven days. We then used machine-learning techniques to reveal underlying relationships between baseline behavioral phenotypes and subsequent polysubstance consumption patterns, where anxiety-and risk-taking-like behavioral phenotypes mapped onto discrete patterns of polysubstance use, preference, and escalation. By simulating more translationally relevant substance use and improving our understanding of the motivations for different patterns of consumption, this study contributes to the developing preclinical literature on polysubstance use with the goal of facilitating better treatment outcomes and novel therapeutic strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Makenzie Patarino
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA 98195
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA 98195
- VA Northwest Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA 98108, USA
| | - Ziheng Christina Wang
- VA Northwest Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA 98108, USA
| | - Katrina Wong
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA 98195
- VA Northwest Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA 98108, USA
| | - Suhjung Janet Lee
- VA Northwest Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA 98108, USA
| | - Emma Skillen
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA 98195
- VA Northwest Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA 98108, USA
| | - Richa Nag
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA 98195
- VA Northwest Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA 98108, USA
| | - Britahny Baskin
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA 98195
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA 98195
- VA Northwest Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA 98108, USA
| | - Abigail G Schindler
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA 98195
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA 98195
- VA Northwest Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA 98108, USA
- VA Northwest Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center, VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA 98108, USA
- Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
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3
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Peart DR, Nolan CJ, Stone AP, Williams MA, Karlovcec JM, Murray JE. Disruption of positive- and negative-feature morphine interoceptive occasion setters by dopamine receptor agonism and antagonism in male and female rats. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2024; 241:1597-1615. [PMID: 38580732 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-024-06584-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2023] [Accepted: 03/29/2024] [Indexed: 04/07/2024]
Abstract
RATIONALE Internally perceived stimuli evoked by morphine administration can form Pavlovian associations such that they can function as occasion setters (OSs) for externally perceived reward cues in rats, coming to modulate reward-seeking behaviour. Though much research has investigated mechanisms underlying opioid-related reinforcement and analgesia, neurotransmitter systems involved in the functioning of opioids as Pavlovian interoceptive discriminative stimuli remain to be disentangled despite documented differences in the development of tolerance to analgesic versus discriminative stimulus effects. OBJECTIVES Dopamine has been implicated in many opioid-related behaviours, so we aimed to investigate the role of this neurotransmitter in expression of morphine occasion setting. METHODS Male and female rats were assigned to positive- (FP) or negative-feature (FN) groups and received an injection of morphine or saline before each training session. A 15-s white noise conditioned stimulus (CS) was presented 8 times during every training session; offset of this stimulus was followed by 4-s access to liquid sucrose on morphine, but not saline, sessions for FP rats. FN rats learned the reverse contingency. Following stable discrimination, rats began generalization testing for expression of morphine-guided sucrose seeking after systemic pretreatment with different doses of the non-selective dopamine receptor antagonist, flupenthixol, and the non-selective dopamine receptor agonist, apomorphine, combined with training doses of morphine or saline in a Latin-square design. RESULTS The morphine discrimination was acquired under both FP and FN contingencies by males and females. Neither flupenthixol nor apomorphine at any dose substituted for morphine, but both apomorphine and flupenthixol disrupted expression of the morphine OS. This inhibition was specific to sucrose seeking during CS presentations rather than during the period before CS onset and, in the case of apomorphine more so than flupenthixol, to trials on which access to sucrose was anticipated. CONCLUSIONS Our findings lend support to a mechanism of occasion setting involving gating of CS-induced dopamine release rather than by direct dopaminergic modulation by the morphine stimulus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davin R Peart
- Department of Psychology, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada
- Collaborative Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Caitlin J Nolan
- Collaborative Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Adiia P Stone
- Department of Psychology, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada
- Collaborative Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Mckenna A Williams
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Jessica M Karlovcec
- Department of Psychology, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada
- Collaborative Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Jennifer E Murray
- Department of Psychology, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada.
- Collaborative Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada.
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Hrelja KM, Kawkab C, Avramidis DK, Ramaiah S, Winstanley CA. Increased risky choice during forced abstinence from fentanyl on the cued rat gambling task. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2024:10.1007/s00213-024-06659-w. [PMID: 39078498 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-024-06659-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2023] [Accepted: 07/23/2024] [Indexed: 07/31/2024]
Abstract
RATIONALE The use of illicit opioids has arguably never been more risky; street drug potency can be dangerously high, is often unknown to the consumer, and results in multiple daily fatalities worldwide. Furthermore, substance use disorder (SUD) is associated with increased maladaptive, risky decisions in laboratory-based gambling tasks. Animal studies can help determine whether this decision-making deficit is a cause or consequence of drug use. However, most experiments have only assessed psychostimulant drugs. OBJECTIVES To assess differences in decision-making strategies both before, during, and after self-administration of fentanyl in male and female Long Evans rats. METHODS Male and female Long Evans rats were trained to perform the rat gambling task (rGT), loosely based on the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) used clinically, and/or self-administer fentanyl. We used the cued version of the rGT, in which sound and light stimuli signal sugar pellet rewards, as cocaine self-administration has the greatest effects on decision making in this task variant. RESULTS After training on the cued rGT, female rats self-administered fentanyl more readily, an effect that was most apparent in optimal decision-makers. Contrary to previous reports using cocaine self-administration, decision-making was unaffected during fentanyl self-administration training in either sex. However, risky decision-making increased throughout forced abstinence from fentanyl in males. CONCLUSIONS These findings complement those from human subjects, in whom preference for uncertain outcomes increased before relapse. These data highlight an abstinence-induced change in cognition that is unique to opiates as compared to psychostimulants, and which may critically contribute to the maintenance of addiction and relapse.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelly M Hrelja
- Department of Psychology, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, 2215 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada.
| | - Carol Kawkab
- Department of Psychology, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, 2215 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada
| | - Dimitrios K Avramidis
- Department of Psychology, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, 2215 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada
| | - Shrishti Ramaiah
- Department of Psychology, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, 2215 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada
| | - Catharine A Winstanley
- Department of Psychology, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, 2215 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada.
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Honeycutt S, Mukherjee A, Paladino M, Gilles-Thomas E, Loney G. Adolescent nicotine exposure promotes adulthood opioid consumption that persists despite adverse consequences and increases the density of insular perineuronal nets. ADDICTION NEUROSCIENCE 2024; 11:100150. [PMID: 38911872 PMCID: PMC11192509 DOI: 10.1016/j.addicn.2024.100150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/25/2024]
Abstract
Adolescence marks a sensitive period for neurodevelopment wherein exposure to drugs of abuse may disrupt maturation and induce persistent changes in neurophysiology which may exacerbate the risk for developing substance use disorders in adulthood. Adolescent nicotine exposure (ANE) enhances motivation to obtain drugs of abuse, particularly opioids, and increases vulnerability for the development of opioid use disorder (OUD). Here, we characterized ANE effects on learning about the adverse consequences of opioid consumption in adulthood in the absence of further nicotine administration. First, we show that ANE engenders punishment resistant fentanyl self-administration in a heterogenous seeking-taking chain schedule of reinforcement at least at the tested dose of fentanyl (0.75 μg/kg). We found that ANE rats consumed significantly more fentanyl and contingent foot shock punishment was less efficacious in limiting fentanyl seeking in ANE rats, relative to nicotine-naïve controls. Next, we demonstrated that ANE limits learning about the deleterious consequences of acute opioid intoxication in adulthood. In a combined conditioned taste avoidance and place preference paradigm we found that ANE resulted in significant reductions in the strength of morphine-induced CTA, and a simultaneous enhancement of CPP at a higher dose that was less capable of driving reinforcement in naïve controls. Finally, we examined the expression of perineuronal nets (PNNs) within insular cortex (IC) and found ANE rats to have increased density of PNNs across the anterior IC and significantly more parvalbumin-labeled IC cells relative to naïve controls. Together, these data lay the framework for a mechanistic explanation of the extreme comorbidity between nicotine use and development of OUDs.
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Peart DR, Claridge EV, Karlovcec JM, El Azali R, LaDouceur KE, Sikic A, Thomas A, Stone AP, Murray JE. Generalization of a positive-feature interoceptive morphine occasion setter across the rat estrous cycle. Horm Behav 2024; 162:105541. [PMID: 38583235 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2024.105541] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2023] [Revised: 03/17/2024] [Accepted: 03/29/2024] [Indexed: 04/09/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Interoceptive stimuli elicited by drug administration acquire conditioned modulatory properties of the induction of conditioned appetitive behaviours by exteroceptive cues. This effect may be modeled using a drug discrimination task in which the drug stimulus is trained as a positive-feature (FP) occasion setter (OS) that disambiguates the relation between an exteroceptive light conditioned stimulus (CS) and a sucrose unconditioned stimulus (US). We previously reported that females are less sensitive to generalization of a FP morphine OS than males, so we investigated the role of endogenous ovarian hormones in this difference. METHODS Male and female rats received intermixed injections of 3.2 mg/kg morphine or saline before each daily training session. Training consisted of 8 presentations of the CS, each followed by access to sucrose on morphine, but not saline sessions. Following acquisiton, rats were tested for generalization of the morphine stimulus to 0, 1.0, 3.2, and 5.4 mg/kg morphine. Female rats were monitored for estrous cyclicity using vaginal cytology throughout the study. RESULTS Both sexes acquired stable drug discrimination. A gradient of generalization was measured across morphine doses and this behaviour did not differ by sex, nor did it differ across the estrous cycle in females. CONCLUSIONS Morphine generalization is independent of fluctuations in levels of sex and endogenous gonadal hormones in females under these experimental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davin R Peart
- Department of Psychology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada; Collaborative Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Ella V Claridge
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Jessica M Karlovcec
- Department of Psychology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada; Collaborative Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Rita El Azali
- Department of Psychology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada; Collaborative Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Kathleen E LaDouceur
- Department of Psychology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada; Collaborative Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Anita Sikic
- Department of Psychology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada; Collaborative Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Abina Thomas
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Adiia P Stone
- Department of Psychology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada; Collaborative Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Jennifer E Murray
- Department of Psychology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada; Collaborative Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.
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7
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Sharp BM, Leng S, Huang J, Jones C, Chen H. Inbred rat heredity and sex affect oral oxycodone self-administration and augmented intake in long sessions: correlations with anxiety and novelty-seeking. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.11.26.568753. [PMID: 38076806 PMCID: PMC10705287 DOI: 10.1101/2023.11.26.568753] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2023]
Abstract
Oxycodone abuse begins with prescription oral oxycodone, yet vulnerability factors determining abuse are largely undefined. We evaluated genetic vulnerability in a rat model of oral oxycodone self-administration (SA): increasing oxycodone concentration/session (0.025-0.1mg/ml; 1,4,16-h) followed by extinction and reinstatement. Active licks and oxycodone intake were greater in females than males during 4-h and 16-h sessions (p< 0.001). Each sex increased intake during 16-h vs 4-h sessions (p<2e-16), but a subset of strains dramatically augmented intake at 16-h (p=0.0005). Heritability (h 2) of active licks/4-h at increasing oxycodone dose ranged from 0.30-0.53. Under a progressive ratio schedule, breakpoints were strain-dependent (p<2e-16). Cued reinstatement was greater in females (p<0.001). Naive rats were assessed by elevated plus maze (EPM), open field (OF) and novel object interaction (NOI). We correlated these behaviors with 28 parameters of oxycodone SA. Anxiety-defining EPM traits were most associated with SA in both sexes, whereas more OF and NOI traits were SA-associated in males. Sex and heredity are major determinants of motivation to take and seek oxycodone; intake augments dramatically during extended access in specific strains; and pleiotropic genes affect anxiety and multiple SA parameters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Burt M Sharp
- Department of Genetics, Genomics and Informatics, College of Medicine, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee 38163
| | - Shuangying Leng
- Department of Genetics, Genomics and Informatics, College of Medicine, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee 38163
| | - Jun Huang
- Department of Pharmacology, Addiction Science and Toxicology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee 38163
| | - Caroline Jones
- Department of Genetics, Genomics and Informatics, College of Medicine, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee 38163
| | - Hao Chen
- Department of Pharmacology, Addiction Science and Toxicology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee 38163
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8
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Quave CB, Vasquez AM, Aquino-Miranda G, Bora EP, Chidomere CL, Zhang XO, Engelke DS, Do-Monte FH. Neural signatures of opioid-induced risk-taking behavior in the prelimbic prefrontal cortex. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.02.05.578828. [PMID: 38370807 PMCID: PMC10871263 DOI: 10.1101/2024.02.05.578828] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/20/2024]
Abstract
Opioid use disorder occurs alongside impaired risk-related decision-making, but the underlying neural correlates are unclear. We developed a novel approach-avoidance conflict model using a modified conditioned place preference paradigm to study neural signals of risky opioid seeking in the prefrontal cortex, a region implicated in executive decision making. Upon establishment of morphine conditioned place preference, rats underwent a subsequent conflict test in which fear-inducing cat odor was introduced in the previously drug-paired side of the apparatus. While the saline control group avoided the cat odor side, the morphine group maintained preference for the paired side despite the presence of cat odor. K-means clustering identified two subsets of morphine-treated rats that exhibited either persistent drug seeking (Risk-Takers) or increased avoidance (Risk-Avoiders) during conflict. Single-unit recordings from the prelimbic cortex (PL) revealed decreased neuronal firing rates upon acute morphine exposure in both Risk-Takers and Risk-Avoiders, but this firing rate suppression was absent after repeated administration. Risk-Avoiders also displayed distinct post-morphine excitation in PL which persisted across conditioning. During the preference test, subpopulations of PL neurons in all groups were either excited or inhibited when rats entered the paired side. Interestingly, while this inhibitory signal was lost during the subsequent conflict test in both saline and Risk-Avoider groups, these inhibitory responses persisted in Risk-Takers. Our results suggest that loss of PL inhibition after opioid conditioning is associated with the formation of contextual reward memory. Furthermore, persistent PL inhibitory signaling in the drug-associated context during conflict may underlie increased risk taking following opioid exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cana B. Quave
- Dept. of Neurobiology & Anatomy, The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
| | - Andres M. Vasquez
- Dept. of Neurobiology & Anatomy, The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Dept. of Neuroscience, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005, USA
| | - Guillermo Aquino-Miranda
- Dept. of Neurobiology & Anatomy, The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Esha P. Bora
- Dept. of Neurobiology & Anatomy, The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Chinenye L. Chidomere
- Dept. of Neurobiology & Anatomy, The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Dept. of Biomedical Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204, USA
| | - Xu O. Zhang
- Dept. of Neurobiology & Anatomy, The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
| | - Douglas S. Engelke
- Dept. of Neurobiology & Anatomy, The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Fabricio H. Do-Monte
- Dept. of Neurobiology & Anatomy, The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
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Ethridge SB, Smith MA. Estradiol and Mu opioid-mediated reward: The role of estrogen receptors in opioid use. ADDICTION NEUROSCIENCE 2023; 9:100139. [PMID: 38155959 PMCID: PMC10753849 DOI: 10.1016/j.addicn.2023.100139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2023]
Abstract
Opioid use and opioid use disorder are characterized by sex and gender differences, and some of these differences may be mediated by differences in the hormonal milieu within and across individuals. This review focuses on the role of ovarian hormones, and particularly estradiol, on the endogenous mu opioid receptor system. There is an abundance of data indicating that estradiol influences the activity of endogenous mu opioid peptides, the activation of mu opioid receptors, and the internalization and desensitization of mu opioid receptors. These effects have functional consequences on behaviors mediated by endogenous mu opioid receptor activity and on sensitivity to mu opioid agonists and antagonists. Recent behavioral data suggest these consequences extend to mu opioid reward, and preclinical studies report that estradiol decreases self-administration of mu opioid receptor agonists across a range of experimental conditions. Data collected in human laboratory studies suggest that estradiol may have functionally similar effects in clinical populations, and thus estrogen receptors may be a potential target in the development of novel therapeutics. This review summarizes data from cellular assays to clinical trials to explore how estradiol influences mu opioid receptor activity, as well as potential ways in which estrogen receptors may be targeted to address the problems of opioid use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah B. Ethridge
- Department of Psychology, Program in Neuroscience, Davidson College, Davidson, NC, USA
| | - Mark A. Smith
- Department of Psychology, Program in Neuroscience, Davidson College, Davidson, NC, USA
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10
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Falconnier C, Caparros-Roissard A, Decraene C, Lutz PE. Functional genomic mechanisms of opioid action and opioid use disorder: a systematic review of animal models and human studies. Mol Psychiatry 2023; 28:4568-4584. [PMID: 37723284 PMCID: PMC10914629 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-023-02238-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2022] [Revised: 08/17/2023] [Accepted: 08/24/2023] [Indexed: 09/20/2023]
Abstract
In the past two decades, over-prescription of opioids for pain management has driven a steep increase in opioid use disorder (OUD) and death by overdose, exerting a dramatic toll on western countries. OUD is a chronic relapsing disease associated with a lifetime struggle to control drug consumption, suggesting that opioids trigger long-lasting brain adaptations, notably through functional genomic and epigenomic mechanisms. Current understanding of these processes, however, remain scarce, and have not been previously reviewed systematically. To do so, the goal of the present work was to synthesize current knowledge on genome-wide transcriptomic and epigenetic mechanisms of opioid action, in primate and rodent species. Using a prospectively registered methodology, comprehensive literature searches were completed in PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science. Of the 2709 articles identified, 73 met our inclusion criteria and were considered for qualitative analysis. Focusing on the 5 most studied nervous system structures (nucleus accumbens, frontal cortex, whole striatum, dorsal striatum, spinal cord; 44 articles), we also conducted a quantitative analysis of differentially expressed genes, in an effort to identify a putative core transcriptional signature of opioids. Only one gene, Cdkn1a, was consistently identified in eleven studies, and globally, our results unveil surprisingly low consistency across published work, even when considering most recent single-cell approaches. Analysis of sources of variability detected significant contributions from species, brain structure, duration of opioid exposure, strain, time-point of analysis, and batch effects, but not type of opioid. To go beyond those limitations, we leveraged threshold-free methods to illustrate how genome-wide comparisons may generate new findings and hypotheses. Finally, we discuss current methodological development in the field, and their implication for future research and, ultimately, better care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camille Falconnier
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université de Strasbourg, Institut des Neurosciences Cellulaires et Intégratives UPR 3212, 67000, Strasbourg, France
| | - Alba Caparros-Roissard
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université de Strasbourg, Institut des Neurosciences Cellulaires et Intégratives UPR 3212, 67000, Strasbourg, France
| | - Charles Decraene
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université de Strasbourg, Institut des Neurosciences Cellulaires et Intégratives UPR 3212, 67000, Strasbourg, France
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université de Strasbourg, Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Adaptatives UMR 7364, 67000, Strasbourg, France
| | - Pierre-Eric Lutz
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université de Strasbourg, Institut des Neurosciences Cellulaires et Intégratives UPR 3212, 67000, Strasbourg, France.
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada.
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11
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Arnold ME, Schank JR. Aversion-associated drug and alcohol seeking in females. Front Neuroendocrinol 2023; 71:101095. [PMID: 37558185 DOI: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2023.101095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2023] [Revised: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 08/06/2023] [Indexed: 08/11/2023]
Abstract
Compulsive drug intake is characterized by the continuation of use regardless of negative consequences. This is modeled preclinically using procedures where a negative stimulus is delivered contingently with consumption of the reinforcer. In humans, women and men exhibit different drug taking behavior as it pertains to overall use, withdrawal symptoms, and rate of dependence. In substance use research, females have often been excluded from many studies due to concerns that circulating sex hormones may affect drug seeking behavior. However, the more recent inclusion of females in preclinical studies has identified interesting sex differences in aversion-resistant intake of drugs and alcohol. This review will serve to summarize key findings in aversion-related intake of alcohol, psychostimulants, and opioids in females by examining studies that have included female subjects. Further discussion will examine the effect of intake model, neuroanatomical pathways, and sex hormones in the expression of aversion-resistant drug and alcohol consumption.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miranda E Arnold
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Jesse R Schank
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
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12
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Little KM, Kosten TA. Focus on fentanyl in females: Sex and gender differences in the physiological and behavioral effects of fentanyl. Front Neuroendocrinol 2023; 71:101096. [PMID: 37597668 DOI: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2023.101096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2023] [Revised: 08/08/2023] [Accepted: 08/16/2023] [Indexed: 08/21/2023]
Abstract
The prevalence of opioid use disorder and overdose continues to harm the U.S. population and is further exacerbated by the use of the synthetic opioid, fentanyl, and its analogs. Gender differences in the effects of fentanyl are not well understood. The present article reviews evidence for gender and sex differences in the physiological and behavioral effects of fentanyl in humans and animals. Biological sex seems to be a foundational driver in addiction vulnerability and affects mechanisms related to opioid use including fentanyl. Fentanyl has distinct pharmacodynamics and enhanced efficacy relative to other opioids that highlights the need to investigate how females may be uniquely altered by its use. Behavioral and physiological responses to fentanyl are found to differ by sex and gender in many cases, including outputs like affective symptoms, analgesia, tolerance, and withdrawal emphasizing the need for further research about the role of biological sex on fentanyl use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaitlyn M Little
- Department of Psychology, University of Houston, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Therese A Kosten
- Department of Psychology, University of Houston, Houston, TX, United States.
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13
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Babb JA, Constantino NJ, Kaplan GB, Chartoff EH. Estrous cycle dependent expression of oxycodone conditioned reward in rats. Sci Rep 2023; 13:13946. [PMID: 37626154 PMCID: PMC10457365 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-40971-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2023] [Accepted: 08/19/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Oxycodone is one of the most widely prescribed and misused opioid painkillers in the United States. Evidence suggests that biological sex and hormonal status can impact drug reward in humans and rodents, but the extent to which these factors can influence the rewarding effects of oxycodone is unclear. The purpose of this study was to utilize place conditioning to determine the effects of sex and female hormonal status on the expression of oxycodone conditioned reward in rats. Gonadally intact adult Sprague-Dawley male and female rats were used to test: (1) whether both sexes express conditioned reward to oxycodone at similar doses, (2) the impact of conditioning session length on oxycodone conditioned reward expression in both sexes, and (3) the influence of female estrous cycle stage on oxycodone conditioned reward expression. Both sexes expressed conditioned reward at the same doses of oxycodone. Increasing the length of conditioning sessions did not reveal an effect of sex and resulted in lower magnitude conditioned reward expression. Importantly however, female stage of estrous cycle significantly influenced oxycodone conditioned reward expression. These results suggest that female hormonal status can impact the rewarding effects of opioids and thus have important implications for prescription opioid treatment practices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica A Babb
- Research and Mental Health Services, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
| | | | - Gary B Kaplan
- Research and Mental Health Services, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Elena H Chartoff
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Division of Basic Neuroscience, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts, USA
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14
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Yates JR. Quantifying conditioned place preference: a review of current analyses and a proposal for a novel approach. Front Behav Neurosci 2023; 17:1256764. [PMID: 37693282 PMCID: PMC10484009 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2023.1256764] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2023] [Accepted: 08/02/2023] [Indexed: 09/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Conditioned place preference (CPP) is used to measure the conditioned rewarding effects of a stimulus, including food, drugs, and social interaction. Because various analytic approaches can be used to quantify CPP, this can make direct comparisons across studies difficult. Common methods for analyzing CPP involve comparing the time spent in the CS+ compartment (e.g., compartment paired with drug) at posttest to the time spent in the CS+ compartment at pretest or to the CS- compartment (e.g., compartment paired with saline) at posttest. Researchers can analyze the time spent in the compartment(s), or they can calculate a difference score [(CS+post - CS+pre) or (CS+post - CS-post)] or a preference ratio (e.g., CS+post/(CS+post + CS-post)). While each analysis yields results that are, overall, highly correlated, there are situations in which different analyses can lead to discrepant interpretations. The current paper discusses some of the limitations associated with current analytic approaches and proposes a novel method for quantifying CPP, the adjusted CPP score, which can help resolve the limitations associated with current approaches. The adjusted CPP score is applied to both hypothetical and previously published data. Another major topic covered in this paper is methodologies for determining if individual subjects have met criteria for CPP. The paper concludes by highlighting ways in which researchers can increase transparency and replicability in CPP studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin R. Yates
- Department of Psychological Science, Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights, KY, United States
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15
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Hosseinzadeh Sahafi O, Sardari M, Alijanpour S, Rezayof A. Shared Mechanisms of GABAergic and Opioidergic Transmission Regulate Corticolimbic Reward Systems and Cognitive Aspects of Motivational Behaviors. Brain Sci 2023; 13:brainsci13050815. [PMID: 37239287 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13050815] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2023] [Revised: 05/12/2023] [Accepted: 05/16/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
The functional interplay between the corticolimbic GABAergic and opioidergic systems plays a crucial role in regulating the reward system and cognitive aspects of motivational behaviors leading to the development of addictive behaviors and disorders. This review provides a summary of the shared mechanisms of GABAergic and opioidergic transmission, which modulate the activity of dopaminergic neurons located in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), the central hub of the reward mechanisms. This review comprehensively covers the neuroanatomical and neurobiological aspects of corticolimbic inhibitory neurons that express opioid receptors, which act as modulators of corticolimbic GABAergic transmission. The presence of opioid and GABA receptors on the same neurons allows for the modulation of the activity of dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area, which plays a key role in the reward mechanisms of the brain. This colocalization of receptors and their immunochemical markers can provide a comprehensive understanding for clinicians and researchers, revealing the neuronal circuits that contribute to the reward system. Moreover, this review highlights the importance of GABAergic transmission-induced neuroplasticity under the modulation of opioid receptors. It discusses their interactive role in reinforcement learning, network oscillation, aversive behaviors, and local feedback or feedforward inhibitions in reward mechanisms. Understanding the shared mechanisms of these systems may lead to the development of new therapeutic approaches for addiction, reward-related disorders, and drug-induced cognitive impairment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oveis Hosseinzadeh Sahafi
- Department of Animal Biology, School of Biology, College of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran 14155-6465, Iran
- Department of Neurophysiology, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
| | - Maryam Sardari
- Department of Animal Biology, School of Biology, College of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran 14155-6465, Iran
| | - Sakineh Alijanpour
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Gonbad Kavous University, Gonbad Kavous 4971799151, Iran
| | - Ameneh Rezayof
- Department of Animal Biology, School of Biology, College of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran 14155-6465, Iran
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16
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Amgott-Kwan AT, Zadina JE. Endomorphin analog ZH853 shows low reward, tolerance, and affective-motivational signs of withdrawal, while inhibiting opioid withdrawal and seeking. Neuropharmacology 2023; 227:109439. [PMID: 36709036 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2023.109439] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2022] [Revised: 01/09/2023] [Accepted: 01/24/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Currently available μ-opioid receptor agonist pharmacotherapies for opioid use disorder possess adverse effects limiting their use and, despite treatment, rates of relapse remain high. We previously showed that endomorphin analog ZH853 had no effect in rodent models that predict abuse liability in humans. Here we extended these findings by examining dependence liability and reinforcing properties in female rats and male rats with previous opioid exposure. The potential use of ZH853 in managing opioid use disorder was evaluated by examining its effect on opioid-seeking behavior and withdrawal. We found that ZH853 did not induce locomotor activation in male and female mice and was not self-administered by female rats. Relative to morphine, ZH853 led to similar somatic signs of withdrawal, but low affective-motivational signs of withdrawal, and absent changes in ventral tegmental area K(+)-Cl(-) co-transporter expression associated with reward dysregulation. The low abuse liability of ZH853 was further supported in oxycodone self-administering male rats, where ZH853 substitution extinguished opioid-seeking behavior. ZH853 priming also did not reinstate morphine conditioned place preference. Lastly, ZH853 inhibited oxycodone-seeking behavior during relapse after forced abstinence and decreased the expression of morphine withdrawal. These findings suggest the potential use of ZH853 as a safer opioid medication for long-term treatment of pain and opioid use disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ariel T Amgott-Kwan
- Neuroscience Program, Tulane Brain Institute: 6823 St Charles Avenue, 200 Flower Hall, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, 70118, USA.
| | - James E Zadina
- Neuroscience Program, Tulane Brain Institute: 6823 St Charles Avenue, 200 Flower Hall, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, 70118, USA; Department of Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine, 1430 Tulane Avenue, New Orleans, LA, 70112, USA; Department of Pharmacology, Tulane University School of Medicine, 1430 Tulane Avenue, New Orleans, LA, 70112, USA; SE Louisiana Veterans Health Care System, 2400 Canal Street, New Orleans, LA, 70119, USA.
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17
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Fournier ML, Faugere A, Barba-Vila O, Le Moine C. Male and female rats show opiate withdrawal-induced place aversion and extinction in a Y-maze paradigm. Behav Brain Res 2023; 437:114122. [PMID: 36174840 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2022.114122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2022] [Revised: 09/08/2022] [Accepted: 09/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Gender differences have been observed in the vulnerability to drug abuse and in the different stages of the addictive process. In opiate dependence, differences between sexes have been shown in humans and laboratory animals in various phases of opiate addiction, especially in withdrawal-associated negative affective states. Using a Y-maze conditioned place aversion paradigm, we investigated potential sex differences in the expression and extinction of the aversive memory of precipitated opiate withdrawal state in morphine-dependent rats. No significant difference between sexes was observed in the occurrence of withdrawal signs following naloxone injection during conditioning. Moreover, opiate withdrawal memory expression and extinction following repeated testing was demonstrated in both male and female rats, with no significant differences between sexes. Finally, we report spontaneous recovery following extinction of opiate withdrawal memory. Altogether these data provide further evidence that persistent withdrawal-related memories may be strong drivers of opiate dependence, and demonstrate that both males and females can be used in experimental rodent cohorts to better understand opiate-related effects, reward, aversive state of withdrawal, abstinence and relapse.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Olga Barba-Vila
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, INCIA, UMR 5287, F-33000 Bordeaux, France
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18
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Armstrong C, Ferrante J, Lamichhane N, Reavis Z, Walker D, Patkar A, Kuhn C. Rapastinel accelerates loss of withdrawal signs after repeated morphine and blunts relapse to conditioned place preference. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2022; 221:173485. [PMID: 36302442 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2022.173485] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2022] [Revised: 10/18/2022] [Accepted: 10/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of rapastinel, an allosteric modulator of NMDA receptor function, to accelerate the loss of opioid withdrawal symptoms and blunt or prevent relapse to morphine conditioned place preference (CPP) in rats. Two studies were conducted. In study 1, adult and adolescent male and female rats were treated with increasing doses of morphine (5 mg/kg, bid to 25 mg/kg bid) for 5 days. On day 6 animals were treated with naloxone (1 mg/kg) and withdrawal was assessed. They were then treated with saline or rapastinel (5 mg/kg) on days 6 and 8, and withdrawal was assessed on day 9. Rapastinel treated animals exhibited significantly lower levels of withdrawal signs on day 9. No sex or age differences were observed. In Study 2, CPP for morphine was established in adult rats (males and females) by 4 daily pairings with saline and morphine (am/pm alternation). They were tested for CPP on day 5, and then treated with rapastinel (5 mg/kg) or saline daily on days 6-10 of extinction. On day 11 they received a final dose of rapastinel or saline followed by extinction trial. On day 12, animals received 1 mg/kg of morphine and were tested for relapse. Rapastinel did not affect extinction of CPP, but rapastinel-treated animals spent significantly less time in the previously morphine-paired side than saline-treated animals during the relapse trial. These findings of accelerated loss of withdrawal signs and blunted relapse to CPP suggest that rapastinel could provide an adjunctive therapy for opioid dependence during initiation of pharmacotherapy for opioid dependence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Armstrong
- Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, United States of America
| | - Julia Ferrante
- Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, United States of America; Department of Psychiatry, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, United States of America
| | - Nidesh Lamichhane
- Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, United States of America; Department of Psychiatry, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, United States of America
| | - Zachery Reavis
- Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, United States of America; Department of Psychiatry, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, United States of America
| | - David Walker
- Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, United States of America; Department of Psychiatry, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, United States of America
| | - Ashwin Patkar
- Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, United States of America; Department of Psychiatry, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, United States of America; Avance Psychiatry, 7850 Brier Creek Pkwy, Ste. 102, Raleigh, NC 27617, United States of America
| | - Cynthia Kuhn
- Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, United States of America; Department of Psychiatry, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, United States of America.
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19
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Ray MH, Williams BR, Kuppe MK, Bryant CD, Logan RW. A Glitch in the Matrix: The Role of Extracellular Matrix Remodeling in Opioid Use Disorder. Front Integr Neurosci 2022; 16:899637. [PMID: 35757099 PMCID: PMC9218427 DOI: 10.3389/fnint.2022.899637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2022] [Accepted: 05/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Opioid use disorder (OUD) and deaths from drug overdoses have reached unprecedented levels. Given the enormous impact of the opioid crisis on public health, a more thorough, in-depth understanding of the consequences of opioids on the brain is required to develop novel interventions and pharmacological therapeutics. In the brain, the effects of opioids are far reaching, from genes to cells, synapses, circuits, and ultimately behavior. Accumulating evidence implicates a primary role for the extracellular matrix (ECM) in opioid-induced plasticity of synapses and circuits, and the development of dependence and addiction to opioids. As a network of proteins and polysaccharides, including cell adhesion molecules, proteases, and perineuronal nets, the ECM is intimately involved in both the formation and structural support of synapses. In the human brain, recent findings support an association between altered ECM signaling and OUD, particularly within the cortical and striatal circuits involved in cognition, reward, and craving. Furthermore, the ECM signaling proteins, including matrix metalloproteinases and proteoglycans, are directly involved in opioid seeking, craving, and relapse behaviors in rodent opioid models. Both the impact of opioids on the ECM and the role of ECM signaling proteins in opioid use disorder, may, in part, depend on biological sex. Here, we highlight the current evidence supporting sex-specific roles for ECM signaling proteins in the brain and their associations with OUD. We emphasize knowledge gaps and future directions to further investigate the potential of the ECM as a therapeutic target for the treatment of OUD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madelyn H. Ray
- Laboratory of Sleep, Rhythms, and Addiction, Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States
- Whitaker Cardiovascular Institute, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Benjamin R. Williams
- Laboratory of Sleep, Rhythms, and Addiction, Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Madeline K. Kuppe
- Laboratory of Sleep, Rhythms, and Addiction, Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Camron D. Bryant
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
- Laboratory of Addiction Genetics, Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Ryan W. Logan
- Laboratory of Sleep, Rhythms, and Addiction, Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
- Genome Science Institute, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States
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20
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Shahzadi A, Yunusoglu O, Karabulut E, Sonmez H, Yazici Z. Influence of Selective Dopamine Agonist Ropinirole on Conditioned Place Preference and Somatic Signs of Morphine Withdrawal in Rats. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 16:855241. [PMID: 35733518 PMCID: PMC9207507 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.855241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2022] [Accepted: 04/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The underlying mechanism of dependence and rewarding effects of morphine is imperative to understand. The primary aim of this study was to investigate whether ropinirole D2/3 agonist affects the rewarding and reinforcing properties of morphine-induced conditioned place preference (CPP) and withdrawal syndromes in rats. On day one, the animals were randomly divided to conduct the pre-test. The morphine (10 mg/kg, i.p.) and/or saline was administered on alternate days in an 8-day CPP session. On day 10, 15 min prior to the post-conditioning test (expression), a single dose of ropinirole (1, 2, and 5 mg/kg, i.p.) was given to rats. In extinction session, ropinirole was injected daily, and CPP was extinguished by repeated testing, with intervals of 3 days. Finally, reinstatement was assessed by administering ropinirole (1, 2, and 5 mg/kg) 15 min before the morphine injection. Morphine dependence was developed by administering increasing doses of morphine (10–50 mg/kg, i.p.). To assess withdrawal symptoms, ropinirole (1, 2, and 5 mg/kg) was injected 15 min before naloxone (2 mg/kg, s.c.) administration. The present study confirms that ropinirole attenuates expression and reinstatement of CPP, while it precipitates the extinction of morphine-induced CPP. Naloxone-precipitated morphine withdrawal symptoms, including wet dog shakes and weight loss, were attenuated although jumping was increased by a single ropinirole injection. Thus, ropinirole was influential in attenuating expression, reducing drug seeking and weakening reinstatement via the dopaminergic system. These findings show that ropinirole might affect neuro-adaptive changes related to dependence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andleeb Shahzadi
- Department of Medical Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine-Cerrahpasa, Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa, Istanbul, Turkey
- *Correspondence: Andleeb Shahzadi,
| | - Oruc Yunusoglu
- Department of Medical Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine-Cerrahpasa, Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa, Istanbul, Turkey
- Department of Medical Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Bolu Abant Izzet Baysal University, Bolu, Turkey
| | - Enes Karabulut
- Department of Medical Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine-Cerrahpasa, Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa, Istanbul, Turkey
- Mehmet Akif Ersoy Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Haktan Sonmez
- Department of Medical Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine-Cerrahpasa, Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Zeliha Yazici
- Department of Medical Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine-Cerrahpasa, Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa, Istanbul, Turkey
- Department of Medical Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Biruni University, Istanbul, Turkey
- Zeliha Yazici, ;
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21
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Sharp JL, Pearson T, Smith MA. Sex differences in opioid receptor mediated effects: Role of androgens. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 134:104522. [PMID: 34995646 PMCID: PMC8872632 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2021] [Revised: 12/19/2021] [Accepted: 01/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
An abundance of data indicates there are sex differences in endogenous opioid peptides and opioid receptors, leading to functional differences in sensitivity to opioid receptor mediated behaviors between males and females. Many of these sex differences are mediated by the effects of gonadal hormones on the endogenous opioid system. Whereas much research has examined the role of ovarian hormones on opioid receptor mediated endpoints, comparatively less research has examined the role of androgens. This review describes what is currently known regarding the influence of androgens on opioid receptor mediated endpoints and how androgens may contribute to sex differences in these effects. The review also addresses the clinical implications of androgenic modulation of opioid receptor mediated behaviors and suggests future lines of research for preclinical and clinical investigators. We conclude that further investigation into androgenic modulation of opioid receptor mediated effects may lead to new options for addressing conditions such as chronic pain and substance use disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica L Sharp
- Department of Psychology and Program in Neuroscience, Davidson College, United States
| | - Tallia Pearson
- Department of Psychology and Program in Neuroscience, Davidson College, United States
| | - Mark A Smith
- Department of Psychology and Program in Neuroscience, Davidson College, United States.
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22
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Compensatory Role of Insulin in the Extinction but Not Reinstatement of Morphine-Induced Conditioned Place Preference in the Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats. Neurochem Res 2022; 47:1565-1573. [DOI: 10.1007/s11064-022-03550-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2021] [Revised: 01/19/2022] [Accepted: 02/05/2022] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
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23
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Gaulden AD, Burson N, Sadik N, Ghosh I, Khan S, Brummelte S, Kallakuri S, Perrine SA. Effects of fentanyl on acute locomotor activity, behavioral sensitization, and contextual reward in female and male rats. Drug Alcohol Depend 2021; 229:109101. [PMID: 34628096 PMCID: PMC8671359 DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2021.109101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2021] [Revised: 09/05/2021] [Accepted: 09/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Although fentanyl has gained widespread prominence, there remains a lack of knowledge on this opioid synthetic agonist, particularly related to sex effects. Therefore, we conducted behavioral tests in female and male rats to measure drug abuse-related responses to fentanyl hypothesizing sex-specific responses. METHODS Using female and male rats, we measured the effects of acute or repeated administration of fentanyl (20 μg/kg) on locomotor activity (LMA) and behavioral sensitization in an open field test. We further measured contextual-reward and associated locomotor activity during training in a conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigm using a low (4 μg/kg) or high (16 μg/kg) dose of fentanyl. Vaginal lavage samples were collected from female rats in the CPP study, and the estrous phase was determined based on the cytological characterization. RESULTS Female, but not male, rats showed elevated LMA in response to acute fentanyl and behavioral sensitization to repeated administration of fentanyl. Fentanyl produced significant CPP in both sexes, but it was more potent in males. Finally, our secondary investigation of the estrous cycle on fentanyl-CPP suggests that non-estrus phases, likely reflecting high estradiol, may predict the degree of fentanyl preference in females. CONCLUSIONS Fentanyl was more potent and/or effective to produce LMA and LMA sensitization in females but more potent to produce CPP in males. Furthermore, the role of sex in fentanyl responses varied across endpoints, and sex differences in LMA were not predictive of sex differences in CPP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew D. Gaulden
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI.,Translational Neuroscience Program, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI
| | - Nicole Burson
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI
| | - Nareen Sadik
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI.,Research Services, John D. Dingell VA Medical Center, Detroit, MI
| | - Ishita Ghosh
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI
| | - Sabrina Khan
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI
| | - Susanne Brummelte
- Translational Neuroscience Program, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI.,Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI
| | - Srinivasu Kallakuri
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI.,Research Services, John D. Dingell VA Medical Center, Detroit, MI
| | - Shane A. Perrine
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI.,Translational Neuroscience Program, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI.,Research Services, John D. Dingell VA Medical Center, Detroit, MI
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Fulenwider HD, Nennig SE, Hafeez H, Price ME, Baruffaldi F, Pravetoni M, Cheng K, Rice KC, Manvich DF, Schank JR. Sex differences in oral oxycodone self-administration and stress-primed reinstatement in rats. Addict Biol 2020; 25:e12822. [PMID: 31830773 DOI: 10.1111/adb.12822] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2019] [Revised: 07/08/2019] [Accepted: 07/18/2019] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
The opioid epidemic has become a severe public health problem, with approximately 130 opioid-induced deaths occurring each day in the United States. Prescription opioids are responsible for approximately 40% of these deaths. Oxycodone is one of the most commonly abused prescription opioids, but despite its prevalent misuse, the number of preclinical studies investigating oxycodone-seeking behaviors is relatively limited. Furthermore, preclinical oxycodone studies that include female subjects are even more scarce, and it is critical that future work includes both sexes. Additionally, the oral route of administration is one of the most common routes for recreational users, especially in the early stages of drug experimentation. However, currently, only two studies have been published investigating operant oral oxycodone self-administration in rodents. Therefore, the primary goal of the present study was to establish an oral oxycodone operant self-administration model in adult male and female rats, as well as to examine a potential mechanism of stress-primed reinstatement. We found that females consumed significantly more oral oxycodone than males in operant self-administration sessions. We also found that active oxycodone self-administration was reduced by mu opioid receptor antagonism and by substitution of water for oxycodone solution. Lastly, we induced stress-primed reinstatement and found that this behavior was significantly attenuated by antagonism of the neurokinin-1 receptor, consistent with our prior work examining stress-induced reinstatement of alcohol- and cocaine-seeking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah D. Fulenwider
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, College of Veterinary Medicine University of Georgia Athens Georgia USA
| | - Sadie E. Nennig
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, College of Veterinary Medicine University of Georgia Athens Georgia USA
| | - Hiba Hafeez
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, College of Veterinary Medicine University of Georgia Athens Georgia USA
| | - Michaela E. Price
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, College of Veterinary Medicine University of Georgia Athens Georgia USA
| | | | - Marco Pravetoni
- Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute Minneapolis Minnesota USA
- Department of Pharmacology University of Minnesota Medical School Minneapolis Minnesota USA
- Center for Immunology University of Minnesota Medical School Minneapolis Minnesota USA
| | - Kejun Cheng
- Drug Design and Synthesis Section NIH/NIDA/NIAAA Rockville Maryland USA
| | - Kenner C. Rice
- Drug Design and Synthesis Section NIH/NIDA/NIAAA Rockville Maryland USA
| | - Daniel F. Manvich
- Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine Stratford New Jersey USA
| | - Jesse R. Schank
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, College of Veterinary Medicine University of Georgia Athens Georgia USA
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25
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Islam A, Rahman MA, Brenner MB, Moore A, Kellmyer A, Buechler HM, DiGiorgio F, Verchio VR, McCracken L, Sumi M, Hartley R, Lizza JR, Moura-Letts G, Fischer BD, Keck TM. Abuse Liability, Anti-Nociceptive, and Discriminative Stimulus Properties of IBNtxA. ACS Pharmacol Transl Sci 2020; 3:907-920. [DOI: 10.1021/acsptsci.0c00066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Bradford D. Fischer
- Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, 401 Broadway, Camden, New Jersey 08103, United States
| | - Thomas M. Keck
- Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, 401 Broadway, Camden, New Jersey 08103, United States
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26
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Fattore L, Marti M, Mostallino R, Castelli MP. Sex and Gender Differences in the Effects of Novel Psychoactive Substances. Brain Sci 2020; 10:brainsci10090606. [PMID: 32899299 PMCID: PMC7564810 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci10090606] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2020] [Revised: 08/28/2020] [Accepted: 08/31/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Sex and gender deeply affect the subjective effects and pharmaco-toxicological responses to drugs. Men are more likely than women to use almost all types of illicit drugs and to present to emergency departments for serious or fatal intoxications. However, women are just as likely as men to develop substance use disorders, and may be more susceptible to craving and relapse. Clinical and preclinical studies have shown important differences between males and females after administration of “classic” drugs of abuse (e.g., Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), morphine, cocaine). This scenario has become enormously complicated in the last decade with the overbearing appearance of the new psychoactive substances (NPS) that have emerged as alternatives to regulated drugs. To date, more than 900 NPS have been identified, and can be catalogued in different pharmacological categories including synthetic cannabinoids, synthetic stimulants (cathinones and amphetamine-like), hallucinogenic phenethylamines, synthetic opioids (fentanyls and non-fentanyls), new benzodiazepines and dissociative anesthetics (i.e., methoxetamine and phencyclidine-derivatives). This work collects the little knowledge reached so far on the effects of NPS in male and female animal and human subjects, highlighting how much sex and gender differences in the effects of NPS has yet to be studied and understood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liana Fattore
- Institute of Neuroscience-Cagliari, National Research Council (CNR), Cittadella Universitaria, 09042 Monserrato, Cagliari, Italy
- Correspondence:
| | - Matteo Marti
- Department of Morphology, Surgery and Experimental Medicine, Section of Legal Medicine and LTTA Center, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy;
- Department of Anti-Drug Policies, Collaborative Center for the Italian National Early Warning System, Presidency of the Council of Ministers, 00187 Rome, Italy
| | - Rafaela Mostallino
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Division of Neuroscience and Clinical Pharmacology, University of Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria, 09042 Monserrato, Cagliari, Italy; (R.M.); (M.P.C.)
| | - Maria Paola Castelli
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Division of Neuroscience and Clinical Pharmacology, University of Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria, 09042 Monserrato, Cagliari, Italy; (R.M.); (M.P.C.)
- National Institute of Neuroscience (INN), University of Cagliari, 09124 Cagliari, Italy
- Center of Excellence “Neurobiology of Addiction”, University of Cagliari, 09124 Cagliari, Italy
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27
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Kokane SS, Perrotti LI. Sex Differences and the Role of Estradiol in Mesolimbic Reward Circuits and Vulnerability to Cocaine and Opiate Addiction. Front Behav Neurosci 2020; 14:74. [PMID: 32508605 PMCID: PMC7251038 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2020.00074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2019] [Accepted: 04/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Although both men and women become addicted to drugs of abuse, women transition to addiction faster, experience greater difficulties remaining abstinent, and relapse more often than men. In both humans and rodents, hormonal cycles are associated with females' faster progression to addiction. Higher concentrations and fluctuating levels of ovarian hormones in females modulate the mesolimbic reward system and influence reward-directed behavior. For example, in female rodents, estradiol (E2) influences dopamine activity within the mesolimbic reward system such that drug-directed behaviors that are normally rewarding and reinforcing become enhanced when circulating levels of E2 are high. Therefore, neuroendocrine interactions, in part, explain sex differences in behaviors motivated by drug reward. Here, we review sex differences in the physiology and function of the mesolimbic reward system in order to explore the notion that sex differences in response to drugs of abuse, specifically cocaine and opiates, are the result of molecular neuroadaptations that differentially develop depending upon the hormonal state of the animal. We also reconsider the notion that ovarian hormones, specifically estrogen/estradiol, sensitize target neurons thereby increasing responsivity when under the influence of either cocaine or opiates or in response to exposure to drug-associated cues. These adaptations may ultimately serve to guide the motivational behaviors that underlie the factors that cause women to be more vulnerable to cocaine and opiate addiction than men.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saurabh S Kokane
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, United States
| | - Linda I Perrotti
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, United States
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28
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Lee JR, Tapia MA, Weise VN, Bathe EL, Vieira-Potter VJ, Booth FW, Will MJ. Voluntary wheel running effects on intra-accumbens opioid driven diet preferences in male and female rats. Neuropharmacology 2019; 155:22-30. [PMID: 31100290 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2019.05.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2019] [Revised: 05/08/2019] [Accepted: 05/13/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Palatability driven feeding and voluntary physical activity are mediated by and influence similar neural mechanisms, notably through the actions of opioids within the nucleus accumbens. Recent studies suggest that access to a voluntary running wheel results in sex dependent behavioral and physiological adaptations related to opioid mediated palatability-driven feeding. To explore this relationship, male and female Wistar rats were given either access to a voluntary running wheel (RUN group) or no access (SED group) for one week prior to being stereotaxically implanted with bilateral cannulae targeting the nucleus accumbens. Following 7 days of recovery, with RUN or SED conditions continuing the duration of the experiment, all rats were assessed daily (2 h/day) for feeding behavior of concurrently accessible high-carbohydrate and high-fat diet for one week. Following this week, all rats were administered the μ-opioid receptor agonist D-Ala2, NMe-Phe4, Glyol5-enkephalin (DAMGO) (0.0025 μg, 0.025 μg, or 0.25 μg/0.5 μl/side) or the opioid antagonist naloxone (20 μg/0.5 μl/side) into the nucleus accumbens and given concurrent access (2 h) to both diets. All groups expressed a significant baseline preference for the high-carbohydrate diet. DAMGO administration, compared to saline treatment, led to significant increased consumption of the high-carbohydrate diet in all treatment groups. While high-fat diet consumption also increased following DAMGO administration, the influence of DAMGO was much more robust for the preferred high-carbohydrate diet in all groups. Compared to males, females consumed significantly more of both diets at baseline and following DAMGO treatment. Both male and female rats in the RUN condition consumed more high-carbohydrate diet compared to rats in the SED condition. While males exhibited similar increased consumption of both diets regardless of RUN or SED condition, females in the RUN condition displayed a greater sensitivity to DAMGO-driven consumption of the preferred high-carbohydrate, compared to SED females.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jenna R Lee
- Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
| | - Melissa A Tapia
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
| | - Valerie N Weise
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
| | - Emily L Bathe
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
| | | | - Frank W Booth
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
| | - Matthew J Will
- Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA; Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA.
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29
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Lee JR, Parker KE, Tapia M, Johns HW, Floros TG, Roberts MD, Booth FW, Will MJ. Voluntary wheel running effects on intra-accumbens opioid high-fat feeding and locomotor behavior in Sprague-Dawley and Wistar rat strains. Physiol Behav 2019; 206:67-75. [PMID: 30807769 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2019.02.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2018] [Revised: 01/29/2019] [Accepted: 02/11/2019] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
The present study examined the influence of physical activity vs. sedentary home cage conditions on baseline and opioid-driven high-fat feeding behaviors in two common strains of laboratory rats. Sprague-Dawley and Wistar rats were singly housed with either access to a voluntary running wheel (RUN) or locked-wheel (SED) for 5 weeks, before being stereotaxically implanted with bilateral cannulae targeting the nucleus accumbens. Following recovery, with RUN or SED conditions continuing the duration of the experiment, all rats were given 2 h daily access to a high-fat diet for 6 consecutive days to establish a stable baseline intake. Over the next 2 weeks, all subjects were administered the μ-opioid agonist D-Ala2, NMe-Phe4, Glyol5-enkephalin (DAMGO) (multiple dose range) or saline into the nucleus accumbens, immediately followed by 2 h access to a high-fat diet. Drug treatments were separated by at least 1 day and treatment order was counterbalanced. Baseline consumption of the high-fat diet during the 1-week baseline acclimation period did not differ between RUN and SED groups in either rat strain. Higher doses of DAMGO produced increased fat consumption in both strains of rats, yet no differences were observed between RUN vs. SED treated groups. However, SED treatment produced a greater locomotor response following intra-accumbens DAMGO administration, compared to the RUN condition, during the 2 h feeding session. The data suggest that the animals housed in sedentary versus voluntary wheel running conditions may differ in behavioral tolerance to the locomotor but not the orexigenic activating properties of intra-accumbens DAMGO treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jenna R Lee
- Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA.
| | - Kyle E Parker
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA; Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
| | - Melissa Tapia
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
| | - Howard W Johns
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
| | - Ted G Floros
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
| | - Michael D Roberts
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
| | - Frank W Booth
- Department of Medical Pharmacology and Physiology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA; Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA; Dalton Cardiovascular Research Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
| | - Matthew J Will
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA; Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA.
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30
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Male and female mice develop escalation of heroin intake and dependence following extended access. Neuropharmacology 2019; 151:189-194. [PMID: 30880124 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2019.03.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2018] [Revised: 02/22/2019] [Accepted: 03/13/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Opioid use disorder is a serious public health issue in the United States. Animal models of opioid dependence are fundamental for studying the etiology of addictive behaviors. We tested the hypothesis that extended access to heroin self-administration leads to increases in heroin intake and produces somatic signs of opioid dependence in both male and female mice. Adult C57BL/6J mice were trained to nosepoke (fixed-ratio 1) to obtain intravenous heroin in six daily 1-h sessions (30-60 μg/kg/infusion). The mice were divided into short access (ShA; 1 h) and long access (LgA; 6 h) groups. Immediately after the 10th escalation session, the mice received a challenge dose of naloxone (1 mg/kg), and somatic signs of withdrawal were recorded. The mice readily acquired intravenous heroin self-administration. LgA mice escalated their drug intake in the first hour across sessions and had significantly higher scores of somatic signs of naloxone-precipitated opioid withdrawal compared with ShA mice. Female mice exhibited increases in heroin intake compared with male mice. Male and female mice exhibited similar levels of somatic signs of withdrawal. Because of the wide availability of genetically modified mouse lines, the present mouse model may be particularly useful for better understanding genetic and sex differences that underlie the transition to compulsive-like opioid taking and seeking.
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31
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Ryan JD, Zhou Y, Contoreggi NH, Bshesh FK, Gray JD, Kogan JF, Ben KT, McEwen BS, Jeanne Kreek M, Milner TA. Sex Differences in the Rat Hippocampal Opioid System After Oxycodone Conditioned Place Preference. Neuroscience 2018; 393:236-257. [PMID: 30316908 PMCID: PMC6246823 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2018.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2018] [Revised: 09/10/2018] [Accepted: 10/01/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Although opioid addiction has risen dramatically, the role of gender in addiction has been difficult to elucidate. We previously found sex-dependent differences in the hippocampal opioid system of Sprague-Dawley rats that may promote associative learning relevant to drug abuse. The present studies show that although female and male rats acquired conditioned place preference (CPP) to the mu-opioid receptor (MOR) agonist oxycodone (3 mg/kg, I.P.), hippocampal opioid circuits were differentially altered. In CA3, Leu-Enkephalin-containing mossy fibers had elevated levels in oxycodone CPP (Oxy) males comparable to those in females and sprouted in Oxy-females, suggesting different mechanisms for enhancing opioid sensitivity. Electron microscopy revealed that in Oxy-males delta opioid receptors (DORs) redistributed to mossy fiber-CA3 synapses in a manner resembling females that we previously showed is important for opioid-mediated long-term potentiation. Moreover, in Oxy-females DORs redistributed to CA3 pyramidal cell spines, suggesting the potential for enhanced plasticity processes. In Saline-injected (Sal) females, dentate hilar parvalbumin-containing basket interneuron dendrites had fewer MORs, however plasmalemmal and total MORs increased in Oxy-females. In dentate hilar GABAergic dendrites that contain neuropeptide Y, Sal-females compared to Sal-males had higher plasmalemmal DORs, and near-plasmalemmal DORs increased in Oxy-females. This redistribution of MORs and DORs within hilar interneurons in Oxy-females would potentially enhance disinhibition of granule cells via two different circuits. Together, these results indicate that oxycodone CPP induces sex-dependent redistributions of opioid receptors in hippocampal circuits in a manner facilitating opioid-associative learning processes and may help explain the increased susceptibility of females to opioid addiction acquisition and relapse.
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Affiliation(s)
- James D Ryan
- Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, 407 East 61st Street, New York, NY 10065, United States; Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Weill Cornell Medicine, 1300 York Ave, New York, NY 10021, United States.
| | - Yan Zhou
- The Laboratory of the Biology of Addictive Diseases, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, United States
| | - Natalina H Contoreggi
- Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, 407 East 61st Street, New York, NY 10065, United States
| | - Farah K Bshesh
- Weill Cornell Medicine in Qatar, Qatar Foundation, Education City, P.O. Box 24144 Doha, Qatar
| | - Jason D Gray
- Harold and Margaret Milliken Hatch Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, United States
| | - Joshua F Kogan
- Harold and Margaret Milliken Hatch Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, United States
| | - Konrad T Ben
- The Laboratory of the Biology of Addictive Diseases, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, United States
| | - Bruce S McEwen
- Harold and Margaret Milliken Hatch Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, United States
| | - Mary Jeanne Kreek
- The Laboratory of the Biology of Addictive Diseases, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, United States
| | - Teresa A Milner
- Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, 407 East 61st Street, New York, NY 10065, United States; Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Weill Cornell Medicine, 1300 York Ave, New York, NY 10021, United States; Harold and Margaret Milliken Hatch Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, United States.
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32
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CRF modulation of central monoaminergic function: Implications for sex differences in alcohol drinking and anxiety. Alcohol 2018; 72:33-47. [PMID: 30217435 DOI: 10.1016/j.alcohol.2018.01.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2017] [Revised: 01/03/2018] [Accepted: 01/19/2018] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Decades of research have described the importance of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) signaling in alcohol addiction, as well as in commonly co-expressed neuropsychiatric diseases, including anxiety and mood disorders. However, CRF signaling can also acutely regulate binge alcohol consumption, anxiety, and affect in non-dependent animals, possibly via modulation of central monoaminergic signaling. We hypothesize that basal CRF tone is particularly high in animals and humans with an inherent propensity for high anxiety and alcohol consumption, and thus these individuals are at increased risk for the development of alcohol use disorder and comorbid neuropsychiatric diseases. The current review focuses on extrahypothalamic CRF circuits, particularly those stemming from the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), found to play a role in basal phenotypes, and examines whether the intrinsic hyperactivity of these circuits is sufficient to escalate the expression of these behaviors and steepen the trajectory of development of disease states. We focus our efforts on describing CRF modulation of biogenic amine neuron populations that have widespread projections to the forebrain to modulate behaviors, including alcohol and drug intake, stress reactivity, and anxiety. Further, we review the known sex differences and estradiol modulation of these neuron populations and CRF signaling at their synapses to address the question of whether females are more susceptible to the development of comorbid addiction and stress-related neuropsychiatric diseases because of hyperactive extrahypothalamic CRF circuits compared to males.
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33
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Riley AL, Hempel BJ, Clasen MM. Sex as a biological variable: Drug use and abuse. Physiol Behav 2017; 187:79-96. [PMID: 29030249 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2017.10.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2017] [Revised: 09/15/2017] [Accepted: 10/07/2017] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
The study of sex as a biological variable is a necessary emphasis across a wide array of endpoints, including basic neuroscience, medicine, mental health, physiology and behavior. The present review summarizes work from clinical and preclinical populations on sex differences in drug use and abuse, ranging from initiation to escalation/dysregulation and from drug cessation/abstinence to relapse. These differences are analyzed in the context of the addiction cycle conceptualization of Koob and his colleagues and address patterns of drug use (binge/intoxication), motivation underlying its use (withdrawal/negative affect) and likelihood and causes of craving and relapse of drug taking (preoccupation/anticipation). Following this overview, an assessment of the basis for the reported sex differences is discussed in the context of the affective (rewarding and aversive) properties of drugs of abuse and how such properties and their balance vary with sex and contribute to drug intake. Finally, the interaction of sex with several experiential (drug history) and subject (age) factors and how these interactions affect reward and aversion are discussed to highlight the importance of understanding such interactions in predicting drug use and abuse. We note that sex as a biological variable remains one of critical evaluation and that such investigations of sex differences in drug use and abuse continue and be expanded to assess all facets of their mediation, including these affective properties, how their balance may be impacted by the multiple conditions under which drugs are taken and how this overall balance affects drug use and addiction vulnerability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony L Riley
- Psychopharmacology Laboratory, Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, D.C. 20016, USA.
| | - Briana J Hempel
- Psychopharmacology Laboratory, Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, D.C. 20016, USA
| | - Matthew M Clasen
- Psychopharmacology Laboratory, Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, D.C. 20016, USA
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34
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Shimamoto A, Rappeneau V. Sex-dependent mental illnesses and mitochondria. Schizophr Res 2017; 187:38-46. [PMID: 28279571 PMCID: PMC5581986 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2017.02.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2016] [Revised: 02/20/2017] [Accepted: 02/23/2017] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
The prevalence of some mental illnesses, including major depression, anxiety-, trauma-, and stress-related disorders, some substance use disorders, and later onset of schizophrenia, is higher in women than men. While the higher prevalence in women could simply be explained by socioeconomic determinants, such as income, social status, or cultural background, extensive studies show sex differences in biological, pharmacokinetic, and pharmacological factors contribute to females' vulnerability to these mental illnesses. In this review, we focus on estrogens, chronic stress, and neurotoxicity from behavioral, pharmacological, biological, and molecular perspectives to delineate the sex differences in these mental illnesses. Particularly, we investigate a possible role of mitochondrial function, including biosynthesis, bioenergetics, and signaling, on mediating the sex differences in psychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akiko Shimamoto
- Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Meharry Medical College, 1005 Dr. D.B. Todd Jr. Blvd., Nashville, TN 37028-3599, United States.
| | - Virginie Rappeneau
- Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Meharry Medical College, 1005 Dr. D.B. Todd Jr. Blvd., Nashville, TN 37028-3599, United States
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35
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Hempel BJ, Wakeford AGP, Nelson KH, Clasen MM, Woloshchuk CJ, Riley AL. An assessment of sex differences in Δ 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) taste and place conditioning. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2016; 153:69-75. [PMID: 27986515 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2016.11.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2016] [Revised: 11/28/2016] [Accepted: 11/30/2016] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Briana J Hempel
- Psychopharmacology Laboratory, Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, American University, Washington, D.C. 20016, USA.
| | - Alison G P Wakeford
- Psychopharmacology Laboratory, Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, American University, Washington, D.C. 20016, USA
| | - Katharine H Nelson
- Psychopharmacology Laboratory, Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, American University, Washington, D.C. 20016, USA
| | - Matthew M Clasen
- Psychopharmacology Laboratory, Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, American University, Washington, D.C. 20016, USA
| | - Claudia J Woloshchuk
- Psychopharmacology Laboratory, Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, American University, Washington, D.C. 20016, USA
| | - Anthony L Riley
- Psychopharmacology Laboratory, Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, American University, Washington, D.C. 20016, USA.
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36
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Effects of sex and remifentanil dose on rats' acquisition of responding for a remifentanil-conditioned reinforcer. Behav Pharmacol 2016; 27:137-47. [PMID: 26580131 DOI: 10.1097/fbp.0000000000000205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Opioid-conditioned reinforcement is thought to exacerbate opioid abuse and dependence. Sex/gender can influence opioid abuse behaviors, but the effects of sex/gender on opioid-conditioned reinforcement, specifically, are unclear. In this study, we compared new-response acquisition with opioid-conditioned reinforcement in male and female rats. First, separate groups received response-independent remifentanil injections (0.0-32.0 μg/kg, intravenous) and presentations of a light-noise stimulus. In the experimental groups, injections and stimulus presentations always co-occurred [paired Pavlovian conditioning (PAV)]; in the control groups, the two occurred independently of each other (random PAV). Next, in the instrumental acquisition (ACQ) sessions, two novel nose-poke manipulanda were introduced. All animals (regardless of sex, dose, and PAV type) could respond in the active nose-poke, which produced the stimulus alone, or in the inactive nose-poke. Both males and females dose-dependently acquired nose-poke responding (active>inactive) after paired PAV, but not after random PAV. Therefore, the stimulus was a conditioned reinforcer. We identified three sex differences. First, only females acquired responding after paired PAV with 32.0 μg/kg remifentanil. Second, using a progressive ratio schedule for ACQ, both sexes acquired responding, but females made significantly more active responses. Third, when a single session of PAV was conducted, only males acquired responding. Thus, rats' sex interacts with pharmacological and environmental factors to determine opioid-conditioned reinforcement.
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Abstract
The purpose of this review is to discuss ways to think about and study sex differences in preclinical animal models. We use the framework of addiction, in which animal models have excellent face and construct validity, to illustrate the importance of considering sex differences. There are four types of sex differences: qualitative, quantitative, population, and mechanistic. A better understanding of the ways males and females can differ will help scientists design experiments to characterize better the presence or absence of sex differences in new phenomena that they are investigating. We have outlined major quantitative, population, and mechanistic sex differences in the addiction domain using a heuristic framework of the three established stages of the addiction cycle: binge/intoxication, withdrawal/negative affect, and preoccupation/anticipation. Female rats, in general, acquire the self-administration of drugs and alcohol more rapidly, escalate their drug taking with extended access more rapidly, show more motivational withdrawal, and (where tested in animal models of "craving") show greater reinstatement. The one exception is that female rats show less motivational withdrawal to alcohol. The bases for these quantitative sex differences appear to be both organizational, in that estradiol-treated neonatal animals show the male phenotype, and activational, in that the female phenotype depends on the effects of gonadal hormones. In animals, differences within the estrous cycle can be observed but are relatively minor. Such hormonal effects seem to be most prevalent during the acquisition of drug taking and less influential once compulsive drug taking is established and are linked largely to progesterone and estradiol. This review emphasizes not only significant differences in the phenotypes of females and males in the domain of addiction but emphasizes the paucity of data to date in our understanding of those differences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jill B Becker
- Molecular & Behavioral Neuroscience Institute, Department of Psychiatry, Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan (J.B.B.); and Director, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland (G.F.K.)
| | - George F Koob
- Molecular & Behavioral Neuroscience Institute, Department of Psychiatry, Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan (J.B.B.); and Director, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland (G.F.K.)
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Roversi K, Pase CS, Roversi K, Vey LT, Dias VT, Metz VG, Burger ME. Trans fat intake across gestation and lactation increases morphine preference in females but not in male rats: Behavioral and biochemical parameters. Eur J Pharmacol 2016; 788:210-217. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2016.06.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2015] [Revised: 06/08/2016] [Accepted: 06/20/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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Goulopoulou S, McCarthy CG, Webb RC. Toll-like Receptors in the Vascular System: Sensing the Dangers Within. Pharmacol Rev 2016; 68:142-67. [PMID: 26721702 DOI: 10.1124/pr.114.010090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 170] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are components of the innate immune system that respond to exogenous infectious ligands (pathogen-associated molecular patterns, PAMPs) and endogenous molecules that are released during host tissue injury/death (damage-associated molecular patterns, DAMPs). Interaction of TLRs with their ligands leads to activation of downstream signaling pathways that induce an immune response by producing inflammatory cytokines, type I interferons (IFN), and other inflammatory mediators. TLR activation affects vascular function and remodeling, and these molecular events prime antigen-specific adaptive immune responses. Despite the presence of TLRs in vascular cells, the exact mechanisms whereby TLR signaling affects the function of vascular tissues are largely unknown. Cardiovascular diseases are considered chronic inflammatory conditions, and accumulating data show that TLRs and the innate immune system play a determinant role in the initiation and development of cardiovascular diseases. This evidence unfolds a possibility that targeting TLRs and the innate immune system may be a novel therapeutic goal for these conditions. TLR inhibitors and agonists are already in clinical trials for inflammatory conditions such as asthma, cancer, and autoimmune diseases, but their study in the context of cardiovascular diseases is in its infancy. In this article, we review the current knowledge of TLR signaling in the cardiovascular system with an emphasis on atherosclerosis, hypertension, and cerebrovascular injury. Furthermore, we address the therapeutic potential of TLR as pharmacological targets in cardiovascular disease and consider intriguing research questions for future study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Styliani Goulopoulou
- Institute for Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, Texas; and Department of Physiology, Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia
| | - Cameron G McCarthy
- Institute for Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, Texas; and Department of Physiology, Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia
| | - R Clinton Webb
- Institute for Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, Texas; and Department of Physiology, Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia
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Collins D, Reed B, Zhang Y, Kreek MJ. Sex differences in responsiveness to the prescription opioid oxycodone in mice. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2016; 148:99-105. [PMID: 27316549 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2016.06.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2016] [Revised: 06/12/2016] [Accepted: 06/13/2016] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Over-prescription and increased nonmedical use of oxycodone has become a major concern. Despite its increased use, preclinical data concerning oxycodone's effects are still limited, especially in rodent models. To address this, we examined oxycodone's effects on place preference, locomotor activation, corticosterone levels, and thermal analgesia across a range of doses (between 0.3 and 10mg/kg) in gonadally intact, adult male and female C57BL/6J mice. Males and females showed oxycodone-induced conditioned place preference and did not show significant between-sex differences in their place preference behavior. During both CPP conditioning sessions and open field assay, locomotor activity was increased by 1, 3, and 10mg/kg oxycodone in females and by 3 and 10mg/kg oxycodone in males. Plasma corticosterone levels were higher in females (compared to males) at baseline as well as following acute oxycodone injection and open field testing. The time course of oxycodone-induced analgesia was similar in males and females, however the total antinociceptive effect (AUC0-120min) was larger in males compared to females at the highest dose tested (10mg/kg). Taken together, these data suggest that male and female mice are modestly different in their responses to oxycodone.
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Affiliation(s)
- Devon Collins
- The Laboratory of the Biology of Addictive Diseases, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, United States.
| | - Brian Reed
- The Laboratory of the Biology of Addictive Diseases, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, United States
| | - Yong Zhang
- The Laboratory of the Biology of Addictive Diseases, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, United States
| | - Mary Jeanne Kreek
- The Laboratory of the Biology of Addictive Diseases, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, United States
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Feltmann K, Fredriksson I, Wirf M, Schilström B, Steensland P. The monoamine stabilizer (-)-OSU6162 counteracts downregulated dopamine output in the nucleus accumbens of long-term drinking Wistar rats. Addict Biol 2016; 21:438-49. [PMID: 26464265 PMCID: PMC5057338 DOI: 10.1111/adb.12304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2015] [Revised: 08/09/2015] [Accepted: 08/14/2015] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
We recently established that the monoamine stabilizer (−)‐OSU6162 (OSU6162) decreased voluntary alcohol‐mediated behaviors, including alcohol intake and cue/priming‐induced reinstatement, in long‐term drinking rats, while blunting alcohol‐induced dopamine output in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) of alcohol‐naïve rats. Therefore, we hypothesized that OSU6162 attenuates alcohol‐mediated behaviors by blunting alcohol's rewarding effects. Here, we evaluated the effects of long‐term drinking and OSU6162 treatment (30 mg/kg, sc) on basal and alcohol‐induced (2.5 g/kg, ip) NAc dopamine outputs in Wistar rats after 10 months of intermittent access to 20% alcohol. The results showed that basal and alcohol‐induced NAc dopamine outputs were significantly lower in long‐term drinking rats, compared with alcohol‐naïve rats. In the long‐term drinking rats, OSU6162 slowly increased and maintained the dopamine output significantly elevated compared with baseline for at least 4 hours. Furthermore, OSU6162 pre‐treatment did not blunt the alcohol‐induced output in the long‐term drinking rats, a finding that contrasted with our previous results in alcohol‐naïve rats. Finally, OSU6162 did not induce conditioned place preference (CPP) in either long‐term drinking or alcohol‐naïve rats, indicating that OSU6162 has no reinforcing properties. To verify that the CPP results were not due to memory acquisition impairment, we demonstrated that OSU6162 did not affect novel object recognition. In conclusion, these results indicate that OSU6162 attenuates alcohol‐mediated behaviors by counteracting NAc dopamine deficits in long‐term drinking rats and that OSU6162 is not rewarding on its own. Together with OSU6162's beneficial side‐effect profile, the present study merits evaluation of OSU6162's clinical efficacy to attenuate alcohol use in alcohol‐dependent patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristin Feltmann
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience Karolinska Institutet Solna Stockholm Sweden
| | - Ida Fredriksson
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience Karolinska Institutet Solna Stockholm Sweden
| | - Malin Wirf
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience Karolinska Institutet Solna Stockholm Sweden
| | - Björn Schilström
- Sahlgrenska Academy University of Gothenburg Gothenburg Sweden
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology Karolinska Institutet Solna Stockholm Sweden
| | - Pia Steensland
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience Karolinska Institutet Solna Stockholm Sweden
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Bobzean SAM, DeNobrega AK, Perrotti LI. Sex differences in the neurobiology of drug addiction. Exp Neurol 2014; 259:64-74. [PMID: 24508560 DOI: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2014.01.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 175] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2013] [Revised: 01/21/2014] [Accepted: 01/27/2014] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Epidemiological data demonstrate that while women report lower rates of drug use than men, the number of current drug users and abusers who are women continues to increase. In addition women progress through the phases of addiction differently than men; women transition from casual drug use to addiction faster, are more reactive to stimuli that trigger relapse, and have higher rates of relapse then men. Sex differences in physiological and psychological responses to drugs of abuse are well documented and it is well established that estrogen effects on dopamine (DA) systems are largely responsible for these sex differences. However, the downstream mechanisms that result from interactions between estrogen and the effects of drugs of abuse on the DA system are just beginning to be explored. Here we review the basic neurocircuitry which underlies reward and addiction; highlighting the neuroadaptive changes that occur in the mesolimbic dopamine reward and anti-reward/stress pathways. We propose that sex differences in addiction are due to sex differences in the neural systems which mediate positive and negative reinforcement and that these differences are modulated by ovarian hormones. This forms a neurobehavioral basis for the search for the molecular and cellular underpinnings that uniquely guide motivational behaviors and make women more vulnerable to developing and sustaining addiction than men.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samara A M Bobzean
- Department of Psychology, College of Science, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019, USA
| | - Aliza K DeNobrega
- Department of Psychology, College of Science, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019, USA
| | - Linda I Perrotti
- Department of Psychology, College of Science, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019, USA.
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Bari A, Robbins TW. Noradrenergic versus dopaminergic modulation of impulsivity, attention and monitoring behaviour in rats performing the stop-signal task: possible relevance to ADHD. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2013; 230:89-111. [PMID: 23681165 PMCID: PMC3824307 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-013-3141-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 86] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2013] [Accepted: 04/29/2013] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
RATIONALE Deficient response inhibition is a prominent feature of many pathological conditions characterised by impulsive and compulsive behaviour. Clinically effective doses of catecholamine reuptake inhibitors are able to improve such inhibitory deficits as measured by the stop-signal task (SST) in humans and other animals. However, the precise therapeutic mode of action of these compounds in terms of their relative effects on dopamine (DA) and noradrenaline (NA) systems in prefrontal cortical and striatal regions mediating attention and cognitive control remains unclear. OBJECTIVES We sought to fractionate the effects of global catecholaminergic manipulations on SST performance by using receptor-specific compounds for NA or DA. The results are described in terms of the effects of modulating specific receptor subtypes on various behavioural measures such as response inhibition, perseveration, sustained attention, error monitoring and motivation. RESULTS Blockade of α2-adrenoceptors improved sustained attention and response inhibition, whereas α1 and β1/2 adrenergic receptor antagonists disrupted go performance and sustained attention, respectively. No relevant effects were obtained after targeting DA D1, D2 or D4 receptors, while both a D3 receptor agonist and antagonist improved post-error slowing and compulsive nose-poke behaviour, though generally impairing other task measures. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that the use of specific pharmacological agents targeting α2 and β noradrenergic receptors may improve existing treatments for attentional deficits and impulsivity, whereas DA D3 receptors may modulate error monitoring and perseverative behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- A. Bari
- Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute and Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EB UK ,Department of Neurosciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Ashley Avenue 173, BSB 409, 29425 Charleston, SC USA
| | - T. W. Robbins
- Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute and Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EB UK
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Brain-derived neurotrophic factor-estrogen interactions in the hippocampal mossy fiber pathway: implications for normal brain function and disease. Neuroscience 2012; 239:46-66. [PMID: 23276673 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2012.12.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2012] [Accepted: 12/13/2012] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
The neurotrophin brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and the steroid hormone estrogen exhibit potent effects on hippocampal neurons during development and in adulthood. BDNF and estrogen have also been implicated in the etiology of diverse types of neurological disorders or psychiatric illnesses, or have been discussed as potentially important in treatment. Although both are typically studied independently, it has been suggested that BDNF mediates several of the effects of estrogen in the hippocampus, and that these interactions play a role in the normal brain as well as disease. Here we focus on the mossy fiber (MF) pathway of the hippocampus, a critical pathway in normal hippocampal function, and a prime example of a location where numerous studies support an interaction between BDNF and estrogen in the rodent brain. We first review the temporal and spatially regulated expression of BDNF and estrogen in the MFs, as well as their receptors. Then we consider the results of studies that suggest that 17β-estradiol alters hippocampal function by its influence on BDNF expression in the MF pathway. We also address the hypothesis that estrogen influences the hippocampus by mechanisms related not only to the mature form of BDNF, acting at trkB receptors, but also by regulating the precursor, proBDNF, acting at p75NTR. We suggest that the interactions between BDNF and 17β-estradiol in the MFs are potentially important in the normal function of the hippocampus, and have implications for sex differences in functions that depend on the MFs and in diseases where MF plasticity has been suggested to play an important role, Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy and addiction.
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Arzate DM, Portillo W, Rodríguez C, Corona R, Paredes RG. Extended paced mating tests induces conditioned place preference without affecting sexual arousal. Horm Behav 2011; 59:674-80. [PMID: 20816964 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2010.08.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2010] [Accepted: 08/25/2010] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
One way to evaluate sexual arousal is by measuring approach behavior to sexual incentive stimuli. In our case we measure approach behavior to an originally non-preferred compartment which is associated with the physiological state induced by mating. This change of preference indicative of a positive affective (reward) state can be evaluated by conditioned place preference (CPP). We have shown that the CPP induced by paced mating is mediated by opioids. The administration of opioids also induces a reward state. The present study was designed to compare the rewarding properties of paced mating and a morphine injection. One group of females was allowed to pace the sexual interaction before being placed in the non-preferred compartment. In alternate sessions they received a morphine injection before being placed in the preferred compartment. In another group of females, the treatments were reversed. Only the females placed in the originally non-preferred compartment after paced mating changed their original preference, suggesting that paced mating induces a positive affective, reward, state of higher intensity than a morphine injection of 1mg/kg. In a second experiment we determined if females allowed to pace the sexual interaction for 1h would still developed CPP. No change in preference was observed in the females that mated for 1h without pacing the sexual interaction. On the other hand, females that received between 10 and 15 paced intromissions as well as females that paced the sexual interaction for 1h developed a clear CPP. The second experiment demonstrated that pacing is rewarding even in an extended mating session in which the females received around 25 intromissions and several ejaculations. These results further demonstrate the biological relevance associated with the ability of the female to space coital stimulation received during mating. This positive affective state will contribute to increase sexual arousal the next time a rat finds an appropriate mate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dulce Ma Arzate
- Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Querétaro, México
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Aberrant learning and memory in addiction. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2011; 96:609-23. [PMID: 21376820 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2011.02.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 161] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2010] [Revised: 02/01/2011] [Accepted: 02/22/2011] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Over the past several years, drug addiction has increasingly been accepted to be a disease of the brain as opposed to simply being due to a lack of willpower or personality flaw. Exposure to addictive substances has been shown to create enduring changes in brain structure and function that are thought to underlie the transition to addiction. Specific genetic and environmental vulnerability factors also influence the impact of drugs of abuse on the brain and can enhance the likelihood of becoming an addict. Long-lasting alterations in brain function have been found in neural circuits that are known to be responsible for normal appetitive learning and memory processes and it has been hypothesized that drugs of abuse enhance positive learning and memory about the drug while inhibiting learning about the negative consequences of drug use. Therefore, the addict's behavior becomes increasingly directed towards obtaining and using drugs of abuse, while at the same time developing a poorer ability to stop using, even when the drug is less rewarding or interferes with functioning in other facets of life. In this review we will discuss the clinical evidence that addicted individuals have altered learning and memory and describe the possible neural substrates of this dysfunction. In addition, we will explore the pre-clinical evidence that drugs of abuse cause a progressive disorder of learning and memory, review the molecular and neurobiological changes that may underlie this disorder, determine the genetic and environmental factors that may increase vulnerability to addiction, and suggest potential strategies for treating addiction through manipulations of learning and memory.
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Behavioral characterization of non-copulating male rats with high spontaneous yawning frequency rate. Behav Brain Res 2010; 214:225-30. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2010.05.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2010] [Revised: 05/13/2010] [Accepted: 05/18/2010] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Abstract
This paper is the 31st consecutive installment of the annual review of research concerning the endogenous opioid system. It summarizes papers published during 2008 that studied the behavioral effects of molecular, pharmacological and genetic manipulation of opioid peptides, opioid receptors, opioid agonists and opioid antagonists. The particular topics that continue to be covered include the molecular-biochemical effects and neurochemical localization studies of endogenous opioids and their receptors related to behavior (Section 2), and the roles of these opioid peptides and receptors in pain and analgesia (Section 3); stress and social status (Section 4); tolerance and dependence (Section 5); learning and memory (Section 6); eating and drinking (Section 7); alcohol and drugs of abuse (Section 8); sexual activity and hormones, pregnancy, development and endocrinology (Section 9); mental illness and mood (Section 10); seizures and neurologic disorders (Section 11); electrical-related activity and neurophysiology (Section 12); general activity and locomotion (Section 13); gastrointestinal, renal and hepatic functions (Section 14); cardiovascular responses (Section 15); respiration and thermoregulation (Section 16); and immunological responses (Section 17).
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard J Bodnar
- Department of Psychology and Neuropsychology Doctoral Sub-Program, Queens College, City University of New York, 65-30 Kissena Blvd, Flushing, NY 11367, United States.
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Estrogen pretreatment modulates morphine-induced conditioned place preference in ovariectomized mice. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2009; 92:399-403. [PMID: 19463255 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2009.01.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2008] [Revised: 01/06/2009] [Accepted: 01/12/2009] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Estrogen is known to modulate the neurotransmission in the brain. The main aim of this study was to investigate the effects of estrogen on the rewarding properties of morphine using conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigm in adult female mice. The possible rewarding effect of estrogen was also examined in ovariectomized mice. Following a 6-day conditioning procedure, sham operated animals showed a significant preference towards the side previously paired with a range of morphine doses (2, 5 and 10--but not 20--mg/kg, SC). However, ovariectomized mice showed decreased CPP compared to gonadally intact mice with a right shift in their morphine dose-response curve. These effects were reversed by chronic daily administration of estradiol benzoate (EB; 20 microg/kg, SC). Furthermore, in ovariectomized mice, EB per se was able to induce CPP. In conclusion, our findings indicate that estradiol has a facilitating effect on morphine reward while its deficiency increases the threshold dose of morphine to induce CPP.
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