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Abu YF, Singh S, Tao J, Chupikova I, Singh P, Meng J, Roy S. Opioid-induced dysbiosis of maternal gut microbiota during gestation alters offspring gut microbiota and pain sensitivity. Gut Microbes 2024; 16:2292224. [PMID: 38108125 PMCID: PMC10730209 DOI: 10.1080/19490976.2023.2292224] [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: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 12/04/2023] [Indexed: 12/19/2023] Open
Abstract
There has been a rapid increase in neonates born with a history of prenatal opioid exposure. How prenatal opioid exposure affects pain sensitivity in offspring is of interest, as this may perpetuate the opioid epidemic. While few studies have reported hypersensitivity to thermal pain, potential mechanisms have not been described. This study posits that alterations in the gut microbiome may underly hypersensitivity to pain in prenatally methadone-exposed 3-week-old male offspring, which were generated using a mouse model of prenatal methadone exposure. Fecal samples collected from dams and their offspring were subjected to 16s rRNA sequencing. Thermal and mechanical pain were assessed using the tail flick and Von Frey assays. Transcriptomic changes in whole brain samples of opioid or saline-exposed offspring were investigated using RNA-sequencing, and midbrain sections from these animals were subjected to qPCR profiling of genes related to neuropathic and inflammatory pain pathways. Prenatal methadone exposure increased sensitivity to thermal and mechanical pain and elevated serum levels of IL-17a. Taxonomical analysis revealed that prenatal methadone exposure resulted in significant alterations in fecal gut microbiota composition, including depletion of Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, and Lachnospiracea sp and increased relative abundance of Akkermansia, Clostridium sensu stricto 1, and Lachnoclostridium. Supplementation of the probiotic VSL#3 in dams rescued hypersensitivity to thermal and mechanical pain in prenatally methadone-exposed offspring. Similarly, cross-fostering prenatally methadone-exposed offspring to control dams also attenuated hypersensitivity to thermal pain in opioid-exposed offspring. Modulation of the maternal and neonatal gut microbiome with probiotics resulted in transcriptional changes in genes related to neuropathic and immune-related signaling in whole brain and midbrain samples of prenatally methadone-exposed offspring. Together, our work provides compelling evidence of the gut-brain-axis in mediating pain sensitivity in prenatally opioid-exposed offspring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yaa F. Abu
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Salma Singh
- Department of Surgery, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Junyi Tao
- Department of Surgery, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
| | | | - Praveen Singh
- Department of Surgery, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Jingjing Meng
- Department of Surgery, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Sabita Roy
- Department of Surgery, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
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2
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Myers AM, Bowen SE, Brummelte S. Maternal care behavior and physiology moderate offspring outcomes following gestational exposure to opioids. Dev Psychobiol 2023; 65:e22433. [PMID: 38010303 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22433] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2023] [Revised: 08/31/2023] [Accepted: 09/29/2023] [Indexed: 11/29/2023]
Abstract
The opioid epidemic has resulted in a drastic increase in gestational exposure to opioids. Opioid-dependent pregnant women are typically prescribed medications for opioid use disorders ("MOUD"; e.g., buprenorphine [BUP]) to mitigate the harmful effects of abused opioids. However, the consequences of exposure to synthetic opioids, particularly BUP, during gestation on fetal neurodevelopment and long-term outcomes are poorly understood. Further, despite the known adverse effects of opioids on maternal care, many preclinical and clinical studies investigating the effects of gestational opioid exposure on offspring outcomes fail to report on maternal care behaviors. Considering that offspring outcomes are heavily dependent upon the quality of maternal care, it is important to evaluate the effects of gestational opioid exposure in the context of the mother-infant dyad. This review compares offspring outcomes after prenatal opioid exposure and after reduced maternal care and integrates this information to potentially identify common underlying mechanisms. We explore whether adverse outcomes after gestational BUP exposure are due to direct effects of opioids in utero, deficits in maternal care, or a combination of both factors. Finally, suggestions for improving preclinical models of prenatal opioid exposure are provided to promote more translational studies that can help to improve clinical outcomes for opioid-dependent mothers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abigail M Myers
- Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA
| | - Scott E Bowen
- Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA
- Translational Neuroscience Program, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA
| | - Susanne Brummelte
- Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA
- Translational Neuroscience Program, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA
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3
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Flores A, Nguyen NM, Pendyala G. Developmental outcomes with perinatal exposure (DOPE) to prescription opioids. NEUROIMMUNE PHARMACOLOGY AND THERAPEUTICS 2023; 2:339-351. [PMID: 38058996 PMCID: PMC10696573 DOI: 10.1515/nipt-2023-0017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2023] [Accepted: 11/07/2023] [Indexed: 12/08/2023]
Abstract
Researchers have found considerable evidence in the past 20 years that perinatal opioid exposure leads to an increased risk of developmental disorders in offspring that persist into adulthood. The use of opioids to treat pain concerning pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum complications has been rising. As a result, communities have reported a 300-400 % increase in Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome (NOWS). NOWS represents the initial stage of several behavioral, phenotypic, and synaptic deficits. This review article summarizes the Developmental Outcomes of Perinatal Exposure (DOPE) to prescription opioids. Moreover, we also seek to connect these findings to clinical research that describes DOPE at multiple stages of life. Since specific mechanisms that underlie DOPE remain unclear, this article aims to provide a framework for conceptualizing across all ages and highlight the implications they may have for longevity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrian Flores
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), Omaha, NE, USA
- Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology, UNMC, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Nghi M. Nguyen
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), Omaha, NE, USA
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Anatomy, UNMC, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Gurudutt Pendyala
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), Omaha, NE, USA
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Anatomy, UNMC, Omaha, NE, USA
- Child Health Research Institute, Omaha, NE, USA
- National Strategic Research Institute, UNMC, Omaha, NE, USA
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4
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Dunn AD, Robinson SA, Nwokafor C, Estill M, Ferrante J, Shen L, Lemchi CO, Creus-Muncunill J, Ramirez A, Mengaziol J, Brynildsen JK, Leggas M, Horn J, Ehrlich ME, Blendy JA. Molecular and long-term behavioral consequences of neonatal opioid exposure and withdrawal in mice. Front Behav Neurosci 2023; 17:1202099. [PMID: 37424750 PMCID: PMC10324024 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2023.1202099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2023] [Accepted: 06/06/2023] [Indexed: 07/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Infants exposed to opioids in utero are at high risk of exhibiting Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome (NOWS), a combination of somatic withdrawal symptoms including high pitched crying, sleeplessness, irritability, gastrointestinal distress, and in the worst cases, seizures. The heterogeneity of in utero opioid exposure, particularly exposure to polypharmacy, makes it difficult to investigate the underlying molecular mechanisms that could inform early diagnosis and treatment of NOWS, and challenging to investigate consequences later in life. Methods To address these issues, we developed a mouse model of NOWS that includes gestational and post-natal morphine exposure that encompasses the developmental equivalent of all three human trimesters and assessed both behavior and transcriptome alterations. Results Opioid exposure throughout all three human equivalent trimesters delayed developmental milestones and produced acute withdrawal phenotypes in mice reminiscent of those observed in infants. We also uncovered different patterns of gene expression depending on the duration and timing of opioid exposure (3-trimesters, in utero only, or the last trimester equivalent only). Opioid exposure and subsequent withdrawal affected social behavior and sleep in adulthood in a sex-dependent manner but did not affect adult behaviors related to anxiety, depression, or opioid response. Discussion Despite marked withdrawal and delays in development, long-term deficits in behaviors typically associated with substance use disorders were modest. Remarkably, transcriptomic analysis revealed an enrichment for genes with altered expression in published datasets for Autism Spectrum Disorders, which correlate well with the deficits in social affiliation seen in our model. The number of differentially expressed genes between the NOWS and saline groups varied markedly based on exposure protocol and sex, but common pathways included synapse development, the GABAergic and myelin systems, and mitochondrial function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amelia D. Dunn
- Department of Systems Pharmacology and Translational Therapeutics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Shivon A. Robinson
- Department of Systems Pharmacology and Translational Therapeutics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Department of Psychology, Williams College, Williamstown, MA, United States
| | - Chiso Nwokafor
- Department of Neurology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States
| | - Molly Estill
- Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States
| | - Julia Ferrante
- Department of Systems Pharmacology and Translational Therapeutics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Li Shen
- Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States
| | - Crystal O. Lemchi
- Department of Systems Pharmacology and Translational Therapeutics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Jordi Creus-Muncunill
- Department of Neurology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States
| | - Angie Ramirez
- Department of Neurology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States
| | - Juliet Mengaziol
- Department of Systems Pharmacology and Translational Therapeutics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Julia K. Brynildsen
- Department of Bioengineering, School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Mark Leggas
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, United States
| | - Jamie Horn
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, United States
| | - Michelle E. Ehrlich
- Department of Neurology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States
| | - Julie A. Blendy
- Department of Systems Pharmacology and Translational Therapeutics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
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5
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Simmons SC, Grecco GG, Atwood BK, Nugent FS. Effects of prenatal opioid exposure on synaptic adaptations and behaviors across development. Neuropharmacology 2023; 222:109312. [PMID: 36334764 PMCID: PMC10314127 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2022.109312] [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: 09/09/2022] [Revised: 10/26/2022] [Accepted: 10/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
In this review, we focus on prenatal opioid exposure (POE) given the significant concern for the mental health outcomes of children with parents affected by opioid use disorder (OUD) in the view of the current opioid crisis. We highlight some of the less explored interactions between developmental age and sex on synaptic plasticity and associated behavioral outcomes in preclinical POE research. We begin with an overview of the rich literature on hippocampal related behaviors and plasticity across POE exposure paradigms. We then discuss recent work on reward circuit dysregulation following POE. Additional risk factors such as early life stress (ELS) could further influence synaptic and behavioral outcomes of POE. Therefore, we include an overview on the use of preclinical ELS models where ELS exposure during key critical developmental periods confers considerable vulnerability to addiction and stress psychopathology. Here, we hope to highlight the similarity between POE and ELS on development and maintenance of opioid-induced plasticity and altered opioid-related behaviors where similar enduring plasticity in reward circuits may occur. We conclude the review with some of the limitations that should be considered in future investigations. This article is part of the Special Issue on 'Opioid-induced addiction'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah C Simmons
- Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Therapeutics, School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Greg G Grecco
- Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA; Medical Scientist Training Program, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA
| | - Brady K Atwood
- Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA; Stark Neurosciences Research Institute, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA
| | - Fereshteh S Nugent
- Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Therapeutics, School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA.
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6
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Castro NCF, Silva IS, Cartágenes SC, Fernandes LMP, Ribera PC, Barros MA, Prediger RD, Fontes-Júnior EA, Maia CSF. Morphine Perinatal Exposure Induces Long-Lasting Negative Emotional States in Adult Offspring Rodents. Pharmaceutics 2021; 14:pharmaceutics14010029. [PMID: 35056925 PMCID: PMC8778186 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics14010029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2021] [Revised: 11/28/2021] [Accepted: 12/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Psychoactive substances during pregnancy and lactation is a key problem in contemporary society, causing social, economic, and health disturbance. In 2010, about 30 million people used opioid analgesics for non-therapeutic purposes, and the prevalence of opioids use during pregnancy ranged from 1% to 21%, representing a public health problem. This study aimed to evaluate the long-lasting neurobehavioral and nociceptive consequences in adult offspring rats and mice exposed to morphine during intrauterine/lactation periods. Pregnant rats and mice were exposed subcutaneously to morphine (10 mg/kg/day) during 42 consecutive days (from the first day of pregnancy until the last day of lactation). Offspring were weighed on post-natal days (PND) 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, and 60, and behavioral tasks (experiment 1) or nociceptive responses (experiment 2) were assessed at 75 days of age (adult life). Morphine-exposed female rats displayed increased spontaneous locomotor activity. More importantly, both males and female rats perinatally exposed to morphine displayed anxiety- and depressive-like behaviors. Morphine-exposed mice presented alterations in the nociceptive responses on the writhing test. This study showed that sex difference plays a role in pain threshold and that deleterious effects of morphine during pre/perinatal periods are nonrepairable in adulthood, which highlights the long-lasting clinical consequences related to anxiety, depression, and nociceptive disorders in adulthood followed by intrauterine and lactation morphine exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nair C. F. Castro
- Laboratório de Farmacologia da Inflamação e do Comportamento, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém 66075-900, Brazil; (N.C.F.C.); (I.S.S.); (S.C.C.); (P.C.R.); (M.A.B.); (E.A.F.-J.)
| | - Izabelle S. Silva
- Laboratório de Farmacologia da Inflamação e do Comportamento, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém 66075-900, Brazil; (N.C.F.C.); (I.S.S.); (S.C.C.); (P.C.R.); (M.A.B.); (E.A.F.-J.)
| | - Sabrina C. Cartágenes
- Laboratório de Farmacologia da Inflamação e do Comportamento, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém 66075-900, Brazil; (N.C.F.C.); (I.S.S.); (S.C.C.); (P.C.R.); (M.A.B.); (E.A.F.-J.)
| | - Luanna M. P. Fernandes
- Departamento de Ciências Morfológicas e Fisiológicas, Centro das Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde (CCBS), Universidade Estadual do Pará, Belém 66087-662, Brazil;
| | - Paula C. Ribera
- Laboratório de Farmacologia da Inflamação e do Comportamento, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém 66075-900, Brazil; (N.C.F.C.); (I.S.S.); (S.C.C.); (P.C.R.); (M.A.B.); (E.A.F.-J.)
| | - Mayara A. Barros
- Laboratório de Farmacologia da Inflamação e do Comportamento, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém 66075-900, Brazil; (N.C.F.C.); (I.S.S.); (S.C.C.); (P.C.R.); (M.A.B.); (E.A.F.-J.)
| | - Rui D. Prediger
- Departamento de Farmacologia, Centro de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis 88040-900, Brazil;
| | - Enéas A. Fontes-Júnior
- Laboratório de Farmacologia da Inflamação e do Comportamento, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém 66075-900, Brazil; (N.C.F.C.); (I.S.S.); (S.C.C.); (P.C.R.); (M.A.B.); (E.A.F.-J.)
| | - Cristiane S. F. Maia
- Laboratório de Farmacologia da Inflamação e do Comportamento, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém 66075-900, Brazil; (N.C.F.C.); (I.S.S.); (S.C.C.); (P.C.R.); (M.A.B.); (E.A.F.-J.)
- Correspondence:
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7
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Alipio JB, Brockett AT, Fox ME, Tennyson SS, deBettencourt CA, El-Metwally D, Francis NA, Kanold PO, Lobo MK, Roesch MR, Keller A. Enduring consequences of perinatal fentanyl exposure in mice. Addict Biol 2021; 26:e12895. [PMID: 32187805 PMCID: PMC7897444 DOI: 10.1111/adb.12895] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2019] [Revised: 02/28/2020] [Accepted: 02/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Opioid use by pregnant women is an understudied consequence associated with the opioid epidemic, resulting in a rise in the incidence of neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS) and lifelong neurobehavioral deficits that result from perinatal opioid exposure. There are few preclinical models that accurately recapitulate human perinatal drug exposure and few focus on fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid that is a leading driver of the opioid epidemic. To investigate the consequences of perinatal opioid exposure, we administered fentanyl to mouse dams in their drinking water throughout gestation and until litters were weaned at postnatal day (PD) 21. Fentanyl-exposed dams delivered smaller litters and had higher litter mortality rates compared with controls. Metrics of maternal care behavior were not affected by the treatment, nor were there differences in dams' weight or liquid consumption throughout gestation and 21 days postpartum. Twenty-four hours after weaning and drug cessation, perinatal fentanyl-exposed mice exhibited signs of spontaneous somatic withdrawal behavior and sex-specific weight fluctuations that normalized in adulthood. At adolescence (PD 35), they displayed elevated anxiety-like behaviors and decreased grooming, assayed in the elevated plus maze and sucrose splash tests. Finally, by adulthood (PD 55), they displayed impaired performance in a two-tone auditory discrimination task. Collectively, our findings suggest that perinatal fentanyl-exposed mice exhibit somatic withdrawal behavior and change into early adulthood reminiscent of humans born with NOWS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason B. Alipio
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Program in Neuroscience, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Adam T. Brockett
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
- Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Megan E. Fox
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Program in Neuroscience, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Stephen S. Tennyson
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
- Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | | | - Dina El-Metwally
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Nikolas A. Francis
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
- Institute for Systems Research, A. James Clark School of Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Patrick O. Kanold
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
- Institute for Systems Research, A. James Clark School of Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Mary Kay Lobo
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Program in Neuroscience, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Matthew R. Roesch
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
- Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Asaf Keller
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Program in Neuroscience, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
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Steinbauer P, Deindl P, Fuiko R, Unterasinger L, Cardona F, Wagner M, Edobor J, Werther T, Berger A, Olischar M, Giordano V. Long-term impact of systematic pain and sedation management on cognitive, motor, and behavioral outcomes of extremely preterm infants at preschool age. Pediatr Res 2021; 89:540-548. [PMID: 32454516 DOI: 10.1038/s41390-020-0979-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2019] [Revised: 04/09/2020] [Accepted: 05/12/2020] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Providing optimal pain relief is a challenging task when caring for premature infants. The aim of this study was to compare the long-term cognitive, motor, and behavioral outcomes of preterm infants before and after the implementation of a pain and sedation protocol. In addition, we investigated whether the increased opiate administration resulting after the implementation process had an impact on these outcomes. METHODS Cognitive outcomes were evaluated using the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (KABC), neuromotor examinations were based on Amiel-Tison, and behavioral outcomes were assessed using the parent-reported Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). RESULTS One hundred extremely preterm infants were included in the study (control group, n = 53; intervention group, n = 47). No significant differences were found in cognitive and motor outcomes at preschool age. However, every increase in the cumulative opiate exposure for each 100 mg/kg was weakly significantly associated with a higher risk for autism spectrum features (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 1.822, 95% confidence interval (CI) [1.231-2.697]; P = 0.03) and withdrawn behavior (aOR = 1.822, 95% CI [1.231-2.697]; P = 0.03) at preschool age. CONCLUSION Increased neonatal cumulative opiate exposure did not alter cognitive and motor outcomes but may represent a risk factor for autism spectrum and withdrawn behavior at preschool age. IMPACT The implementation of a protocol for the management of pain and sedation in preterm infants resulted in increased cumulative opiate exposure. Our study adds further evidence that increased neonatal opiate exposure did not alter cognitive and motor outcomes but may yield a potential risk factor for autism spectrum disorders and withdrawn behavior at preschool age. A vigilant use of opiates is recommended. Further studies are needed looking for novel pain management strategies and drugs providing optimal pain relief with minimal neurotoxicity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philipp Steinbauer
- Division of Neonatology, Pediatric Intensive Care and Neuropediatrics, Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Philipp Deindl
- Department of Neonatology and Pediatric Intensive Care Medicine, University Children's Hospital, University Medical Center Hamburg Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Renate Fuiko
- Division of Neonatology, Pediatric Intensive Care and Neuropediatrics, Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Lukas Unterasinger
- Division of Neonatology, Pediatric Intensive Care and Neuropediatrics, Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Francesco Cardona
- Division of Neonatology, Pediatric Intensive Care and Neuropediatrics, Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Michael Wagner
- Division of Neonatology, Pediatric Intensive Care and Neuropediatrics, Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Joy Edobor
- Division of Neonatology, Pediatric Intensive Care and Neuropediatrics, Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Tobias Werther
- Division of Neonatology, Pediatric Intensive Care and Neuropediatrics, Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Angelika Berger
- Division of Neonatology, Pediatric Intensive Care and Neuropediatrics, Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Monika Olischar
- Division of Neonatology, Pediatric Intensive Care and Neuropediatrics, Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
| | - Vito Giordano
- Division of Neonatology, Pediatric Intensive Care and Neuropediatrics, Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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9
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Boggess T, Risher WC. Clinical and basic research investigations into the long-term effects of prenatal opioid exposure on brain development. J Neurosci Res 2020; 100:396-409. [PMID: 32459039 DOI: 10.1002/jnr.24642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2020] [Revised: 04/01/2020] [Accepted: 04/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Coincident with the opioid epidemic in the United States has been a dramatic increase in the number of children born with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), a form of withdrawal resulting from opioid exposure during pregnancy. Many research efforts on NAS have focused on short-term care, including acute symptom treatment and weaning of the infants off their drug dependency prior to authorizing their release. However, investigations into the long-term effects of prenatal opioid exposure (POE) on brain development, from the cellular to the behavioral level, have not been as frequent. Given the importance of the perinatal period for human brain development, opioid-induced disturbances in the formation and function of nascent synaptic networks and glia have the potential to impact brain connectivity and cognition long after the drug supply is cutoff shortly after birth. In this review, we will summarize the current state of NAS research, bringing together findings from human studies and preclinical animal models to highlight what is known about how POE can induce significant, prolonged deficits in brain structure and function. With rates of NAS continuing to rise, particularly in regions that already face substantial socioeconomic challenges, we speculate as to the most promising avenues for future research to alleviate this growing multigenerational threat.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taylor Boggess
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine at Marshall University, Huntington, WV, USA
| | - W Christopher Risher
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine at Marshall University, Huntington, WV, USA
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10
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Bornavard M, Fanaei H, Mirshekar MA, Farajian Mashhadi F, Atashpanjeh A. Morphine consumption during pregnancy exacerbates neonatal hypoxia-ischemia injury in rats. Int J Dev Neurosci 2020; 80:96-105. [PMID: 31981237 DOI: 10.1002/jdn.10008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2019] [Revised: 01/08/2020] [Accepted: 01/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Hypoxia-Ischemia (HI) is the most common cause of death and disability in human infants. The use of opiate in pregnant women affects their children. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of morphine consumption during pregnancy and lactation on vulnerability to neonatal HI in rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS Female Wistar rats were randomly assigned into two groups: Group 1-Rats that did not receive any treatment during pregnancy and lactation and Group 2-Rats that received morphine during pregnancy and lactation. After delivery, male offspring were divided into four groups including: (a) SHAM, (b) SHAM/Morphine (SHAM/MO), (c) HI, (d) HI/Morphine (HI/MO). Seven days after HI induction, neurobehavioral tests were performed, and then, brain tissue was taken from the skull to measure cerebral edema, infarct volume, inflammatory factors, oxidative stress, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). RESULTS Total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and BDNF levels in the HI/MO group were significantly lower than HI and SHAM groups. TNF-α, C-reactive protein and total oxidant capacity levels in the HI/MO group were significantly higher than HI and SHAM groups. Cerebral edema and infarct volume in the HI/MO group were significantly higher than the HI group. CONCLUSION Based on the results, morphine consumption during pregnancy and lactation enhanced the deleterious effects of HI injury in pups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Morad Bornavard
- Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran
| | - Hamed Fanaei
- Pregnancy Health Research Center, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran
| | - Mohammad Ali Mirshekar
- Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Clinical Immunology Research Center, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran
| | - Farzaneh Farajian Mashhadi
- Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran
| | - Alireza Atashpanjeh
- Department of English Language, School of Medicine, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran
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11
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Ahmadian-Moghadam H, Sadat-Shirazi MS, Seifi F, Niknamfar S, Akbarabadi A, Toolee H, Zarrindast MR. Transgenerational influence of parental morphine exposure on pain perception, anxiety-like behavior and passive avoidance memory among male and female offspring of Wistar rats. EXCLI JOURNAL 2019; 18:1019-1036. [PMID: 31762726 PMCID: PMC6868917 DOI: 10.17179/excli2019-1845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2019] [Accepted: 10/29/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Accumulating evidence suggests that epigenetic mechanisms play an important role in the formation and maintenance of memory within the brain. Moreover, the effect of parental drug-exposure before gestation on behavioral state of offspring has been little studied. The main objective of the current study is to evaluate the effect of parental morphine exposure on avoidance memory, morphine preference and anxiety-like behavior of offspring. The total of 32 males and 32 females were used for mating. The animals were treated with morphine. The offspring according to their parental morphine treatment was divided into four groups (n=16) including paternally treated, maternally treated, both of parents treated and naïve animals. The pain perception, anxiety-like behavior, and avoidance memory were evaluated in the offspring. In the current study, the total of 256 offspring was used for the experiments (4 tasks × 4 groups of offspring × 8 female offspring × 8 male offspring). The finding revealed that the avoidance memory and visceral pain were reduced significantly in male and female offspring with at least one morphine-treated parent. Moreover, anxiety-like behavior was reduced significantly in the male offspring with at least one morphine-treated parent. While anxiety-like behavior was increased significantly in female offspring that were treated by morphine either maternally or both of parents. The data revealed that the endogenous opioid system may be altered in the offspring of morphine-treated parent(s), and epigenetic role could be important. However, analysis of variance signified the important role of maternal inheritance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hamid Ahmadian-Moghadam
- Iranian National Center for Addiction Studies, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | | | - Fereshteh Seifi
- Biology Department, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Islamic Azad University, North Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran
| | - Saba Niknamfar
- Biology Department, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Islamic Azad University, North Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran
| | - Ardeshir Akbarabadi
- Iranian National Center for Addiction Studies, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, Garmsar Branch, Islamic Azad University, Garmsar, Iran
| | - Heidar Toolee
- Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mohammad-Reza Zarrindast
- Iranian National Center for Addiction Studies, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
- Endocrinology and Metabolism Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran
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12
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Ahmadian-Moghadam H, Akbarabadi A, Toolee H, Sadat-Shirazi MS, Khalifeh S, Niknamfar S, Zarrindast MR. Correlation among the Behavioral Features in the Offspring of Morphine-Abstinent Rats. ADDICTION & HEALTH 2019; 11:262-275. [PMID: 32206219 PMCID: PMC7073814 DOI: 10.22122/ahj.v11i4.253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2019] [Accepted: 08/03/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Critical analysis of new evidence in medical sciences relies on statistics in terms of correlation. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the correlation coefficients among the behavioral features in the offspring of morphine-abstinent parent(s). METHODS The offspring of rats with various parental morphine-exposure were divided into four groups including offspring with healthy parents (CTL), offspring with paternal morphine-abstinent (PMA) parent, offspring with maternal morphine-abstinent (MMA) parent, and offspring with both morphine-abstinent (BMA) parents. Pain perception, depression-like behavior and avoidance-memory in the offspring were quantified. The association between variables was measured using Pearson correlation analysis. FINDINGS A strong correlation was observed between pain and depressive-like behavior in female and male offspring of healthy parents. Moreover, in the male and female offspring of healthy parents and BMA, no significant correlation was observed between avoidance memory and pain behavior or depressive-like behavior. However, in the offspring of MMA, a strong correlation was observed between avoidance memory and depressive-like behavior. CONCLUSION The results revealed that in comparison with the offspring with CTL, the correlation among the behavioral futures in the offspring with MMA or PMA parents is significantly different.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hamid Ahmadian-Moghadam
- Iranian National Center for Addiction Studies, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Ardeshir Akbarabadi
- Iranian National Center for Addiction Studies, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Heidar Toolee
- Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | | | - Solmaz Khalifeh
- Cognitive and Neuroscience Research Center, Amir Al-Momenin Hospital, Tehran Medical Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Saba Niknamfar
- Iranian National Center for Addiction Studies, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mohammad Reza Zarrindast
- Iranian National Center for Addiction Studies AND Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
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13
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Torabi M, Pooriamehr A, Bigdeli I, Miladi-Gorji H. Maternal swimming exercise during pregnancy attenuates anxiety/depressive-like behaviors and voluntary morphine consumption in the pubertal male and female rat offspring born from morphine dependent mothers. Neurosci Lett 2017; 659:110-114. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2017.08.074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2017] [Revised: 08/27/2017] [Accepted: 08/30/2017] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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14
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Pooriamehr A, Sabahi P, Miladi-Gorji H. Effects of environmental enrichment during abstinence in morphine dependent parents on anxiety, depressive-like behaviors and voluntary morphine consumption in rat offspring. Neurosci Lett 2017; 656:37-42. [PMID: 28729075 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2017.07.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2017] [Revised: 07/13/2017] [Accepted: 07/14/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Chronic morphine exposure during puberty increased morphine-induced rewarding effects and sensitization in the next generation. Given the well-known beneficial effects of environmental enrichment on the severity of physical and psychological dependence on morphine, we examined effects of enriched environment during morphine abstinence in morphine dependent parental rats before mating on the anxiety and depressive-like behaviors, and voluntary morphine consumption in their offspring. Paternal and/or maternal rats were injected with bi-daily doses (10mg/kg, 12h intervals) of morphine for 14days followed by rearing in a standard environment (SE) or enriched environment (EE) during 30days of morphine abstinence before mating. The pubertal male and female rat offspring were tested for anxiety (the elevated plus maze- EPM) and depression (sucrose preference test-SPT), and voluntary morphine consumption using a two-bottle choice (TBC) paradigm. The results showed that EE experience in morphine-dependent both parents result in an increase in the percentage of time spent into open arms/time spent on both arms using EPM in male offspring, higher levels of sucrose preference in female offspring and lower levels of voluntary morphine consumption in male and female offspring. Thus, EE experience in morphine-dependent both parents reduced anxiety, depressive-like behavior and also the voluntary morphine consumption in their offspring during puberty which may prevent the vulnerability of the next generation to drug abuse.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alireza Pooriamehr
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Semnan, Semnan, Iran
| | - Parviz Sabahi
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Semnan, Semnan, Iran
| | - Hossein Miladi-Gorji
- Laboratory of Animal Addiction Models, Research Center and Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran.
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15
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Sithisarn T, Legan SJ, Westgate PM, Wilson M, Wellmann K, Bada HS, Barron S. The Effects of Perinatal Oxycodone Exposure on Behavioral Outcome in a Rodent Model. Front Pediatr 2017; 5:180. [PMID: 28971091 PMCID: PMC5609564 DOI: 10.3389/fped.2017.00180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2017] [Accepted: 08/09/2017] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Opiate addiction is now a major public health problem. Perinatal insults and exposure to opiates such as morphine in utero are well known to affect development of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis of the offspring adversely and are associated with a higher risk of developing neurobehavioral problems. Oxycodone is now one of the most frequently abused pain killers during pregnancy; however, limited data are available regarding whether and how perinatal oxycodone exposure (POE) alters neurobehavioral outcomes of the offspring. We demonstrated that exposure to 0.5 mg/kg/day oxycodone in utero was associated with hyperactivity in adult rats in an open field. No significant effects of POE were detected on isolation-induced ultrasonic vocalizations in the early postnatal period or on learning and memory in the water maze in adult offspring. Our findings are consistent with hyperactivity problems identified in children exposed to opiates in utero.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thitinart Sithisarn
- Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States
| | - Sandra J Legan
- Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States
| | - Philip M Westgate
- Department of Biostatistics, College of Public Health, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States
| | - Melinda Wilson
- Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States
| | - Kristen Wellmann
- Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States
| | - Henrietta S Bada
- Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States
| | - Susan Barron
- Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States
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16
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Terasaki LS, Gomez J, Schwarz JM. An examination of sex differences in the effects of early-life opiate and alcohol exposure. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2016; 371:20150123. [PMID: 26833841 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/08/2015] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Early-life exposure to drugs and alcohol is one of the most preventable causes of developmental, behavioural and learning disorders in children. Thus a significant amount of basic, animal and human research has focused on understanding the behavioural consequences and the associated neural effects of exposure to drugs and alcohol during early brain development. Despite this, much of the previous research that has been done on this topic has used predominantly male subjects or rodents. While many of the findings from these male-specific studies may ultimately apply to females, the purpose of this review is to highlight the research that has also examined sex as a factor and found striking differences between the sexes in their response to early-life opiate and alcohol exposure. Finally, we will also provide a framework for scientists interested in examining sex as a factor in future experiments that specifically examine the consequences of early-life drug and alcohol exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurne S Terasaki
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, 108 Wolf Hall, Newark, DE 19716, USA
| | - Julie Gomez
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, 108 Wolf Hall, Newark, DE 19716, USA
| | - Jaclyn M Schwarz
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, 108 Wolf Hall, Newark, DE 19716, USA
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17
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Craig MM, Bajic D. Long-term behavioral effects in a rat model of prolonged postnatal morphine exposure. Behav Neurosci 2015; 129:643-55. [PMID: 26214209 PMCID: PMC4586394 DOI: 10.1037/bne0000081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Prolonged morphine treatment in neonatal pediatric populations is associated with a high incidence of opioid tolerance and dependence. Despite the clinical relevance of this problem, our knowledge of long-term consequences is sparse. The main objective of this study was to investigate whether prolonged morphine administration in a neonatal rat is associated with long-term behavioral changes in adulthood. Newborn animals received either morphine (10 mg/kg) or equal volume of saline subcutaneously twice daily for the first 2 weeks of life. Morphine-treated animals underwent 10 days of morphine weaning to reduce the potential for observable physical signs of withdrawal. Animals were subjected to nonstressful testing (locomotor activity recording and a novel-object recognition test) at a young age (Postnatal Days [PDs] 27-31) or later in adulthood (PDs 55-56), as well as stressful testing (calibrated forceps test, hot plate test, and forced swim test) only in adulthood. Analysis revealed that prolonged neonatal morphine exposure resulted in decreased thermal but not mechanical threshold. Importantly, no differences were found for total locomotor activity (proxy of drug reward/reinforcement behavior), individual forced swim test behaviors (proxy of affective processing), or novel-object recognition test. Performance on the novel-object recognition test was compromised in the morphine-treated group at the young age, but the effect disappeared in adulthood. These novel results provide insight into the long-term consequences of opioid treatment during an early developmental period and suggest long-term neuroplastic differences in sensory processing related to thermal stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael M. Craig
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, 300 Longwood Ave., Boston, MA, USA
| | - Dusica Bajic
- Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, 300 Longwood Ave., Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Anaesthesia, Harvard Medical School, 25 Shattuck St., Boston, MA, USA
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18
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Tan JW, Duan TT, Zhou QX, Ding ZY, Jing L, Cao J, Wang LP, Mao RR, Xu L. Impaired contextual fear extinction and hippocampal synaptic plasticity in adult rats induced by prenatal morphine exposure. Addict Biol 2015; 20:652-62. [PMID: 24903743 DOI: 10.1111/adb.12158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Prenatal opiate exposure causes a series of neurobehavioral disturbances by affecting brain development. However, the question of whether prenatal opiate exposure increases vulnerability to memory-related neuropsychiatric disorders in adult offspring remains largely unknown. Here, we found that rats prenatally exposed to morphine (PM) showed impaired acquisition but enhanced maintenance of contextual fear memory compared with control animals that were prenatally exposed to saline (PS). The impairment of acquisition was rescued by increasing the intensity of footshocks (1.2 mA rather than 0.8 mA). Meanwhile, we also found that PM rats exhibited impaired extinction of contextual fear, which is associated with enhanced maintenance of fear memory. The impaired extinction lasted for 1 week following extinction training. Furthermore, PM rats exhibited reduced anxiety-like behavior in the elevated plus-maze and light/dark box test without differences in locomotor activity. These alterations in PM rats were mirrored by abnormalities in synaptic plasticity in the Schaffer collateral-CA1 synapses of the hippocampus in vivo. PS rats showed blocked long-term potentiation and enabled long-term depression in CA1 synapses following contextual fear conditioning, while prenatal morphine exposure restricted synaptic plasticity in CA1 synapses. The smaller long-term potentiation in PM rats was not further blocked by contextual fear conditioning, and the long-term depression enabled by contextual fear conditioning was abolished. Taken together, our results provide the first evidence suggesting that prenatal morphine exposure may increase vulnerability to fear memory-related neuropsychiatric disorders in adulthood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ji-Wei Tan
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms; KIZ/CUHK Joint Laboratory of Bioresources and Molecular Research in Common Disease; Laboratory of Learning and Memory; Kunming Institute of Zoology; The Chinese Academy of Sciences; China
- Kunming College of Life Science; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences; China
| | - Ting-Ting Duan
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms; KIZ/CUHK Joint Laboratory of Bioresources and Molecular Research in Common Disease; Laboratory of Learning and Memory; Kunming Institute of Zoology; The Chinese Academy of Sciences; China
- School of Life Sciences; University of Science and Technology of China; China
| | - Qi-Xin Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms; KIZ/CUHK Joint Laboratory of Bioresources and Molecular Research in Common Disease; Laboratory of Learning and Memory; Kunming Institute of Zoology; The Chinese Academy of Sciences; China
| | - Ze-Yang Ding
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms; KIZ/CUHK Joint Laboratory of Bioresources and Molecular Research in Common Disease; Laboratory of Learning and Memory; Kunming Institute of Zoology; The Chinese Academy of Sciences; China
- School of Life Sciences; Anhui University; China
| | - Liang Jing
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms; KIZ/CUHK Joint Laboratory of Bioresources and Molecular Research in Common Disease; Laboratory of Learning and Memory; Kunming Institute of Zoology; The Chinese Academy of Sciences; China
- Kunming College of Life Science; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences; China
| | - Jun Cao
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms; KIZ/CUHK Joint Laboratory of Bioresources and Molecular Research in Common Disease; Laboratory of Learning and Memory; Kunming Institute of Zoology; The Chinese Academy of Sciences; China
| | - Li-Ping Wang
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms; KIZ/CUHK Joint Laboratory of Bioresources and Molecular Research in Common Disease; Laboratory of Learning and Memory; Kunming Institute of Zoology; The Chinese Academy of Sciences; China
| | - Rong-Rong Mao
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms; KIZ/CUHK Joint Laboratory of Bioresources and Molecular Research in Common Disease; Laboratory of Learning and Memory; Kunming Institute of Zoology; The Chinese Academy of Sciences; China
| | - Lin Xu
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms; KIZ/CUHK Joint Laboratory of Bioresources and Molecular Research in Common Disease; Laboratory of Learning and Memory; Kunming Institute of Zoology; The Chinese Academy of Sciences; China
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Chen HH, Chiang YC, Yuan ZF, Kuo CC, Lai MD, Hung TW, Ho IK, Chen ST. Buprenorphine, methadone, and morphine treatment during pregnancy: behavioral effects on the offspring in rats. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat 2015; 11:609-18. [PMID: 25834439 PMCID: PMC4358634 DOI: 10.2147/ndt.s70585] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Methadone and buprenorphine are widely used for treating people with opioid dependence, including pregnant women. Prenatal exposure to opioids has devastating effects on the development of human fetuses and may induce long-term physical and neurobehavioral changes during postnatal maturation. This study aimed at comparing the behavioral outcomes of young rats prenatally exposed to buprenorphine, methadone, and morphine. Pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were administered saline, morphine, methadone, and buprenorphine during embryonic days 3-20. The cognitive function, social interaction, anxiety-like behaviors, and locomotor activity of offsprings were examined by novel object recognition test, social interaction test, light-dark transition test, elevated plus-maze, and open-field test between 6 weeks and 10 weeks of age. Prenatal exposure to methadone and buprenorphine did not affect locomotor activity, but significantly impaired novel object recognition and social interaction in both male and female offsprings in the same manner as morphine. Although prenatal exposure to methadone or buprenorphine increased anxiety-like behaviors in the light-dark transition in both male and female offsprings, the effects were less pronounced as compared to that of morphine. Methadone affected elevated plus-maze in both sex, but buprenorphine only affected the female offsprings. These findings suggest that buprenorphine and methadone maintenance therapy for pregnant women, like morphine, produced detrimental effects on cognitive function and social behaviors, whereas the offsprings of such women might have a lower risk of developing anxiety disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hwei-Hsien Chen
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Research, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli County, Taiwan ; Master and PhD Program in Pharmacology and Toxicology, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan
| | - Yao-Chang Chiang
- Center for Drug Abuse and Addiction, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan ; Graduate Institute of Clinical Medical Science, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan
| | - Zung Fan Yuan
- Master Program in Physiological and Anatomical Medicine, School of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan ; Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan
| | - Chung-Chih Kuo
- Master Program in Physiological and Anatomical Medicine, School of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan ; Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan
| | - Mei-Dan Lai
- Master and PhD Program in Pharmacology and Toxicology, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan
| | - Tsai-Wei Hung
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Research, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli County, Taiwan
| | - Ing-Kang Ho
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Research, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli County, Taiwan ; Center for Drug Abuse and Addiction, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan ; Graduate Institute of Clinical Medical Science, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan
| | - Shao-Tsu Chen
- Master and PhD Program in Pharmacology and Toxicology, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan ; Department of Psychiatry, Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital, Hualien, Taiwan
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20
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Li CQ, Luo YW, Bi FF, Cui TT, Song L, Cao WY, Zhang JY, Li F, Xu JM, Hao W, Xing XW, Zhou FH, Zhou XF, Dai RP. Development of anxiety-like behavior via hippocampal IGF-2 signaling in the offspring of parental morphine exposure: effect of enriched environment. Neuropsychopharmacology 2014; 39:2777-87. [PMID: 24889368 PMCID: PMC4200488 DOI: 10.1038/npp.2014.128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2014] [Revised: 04/20/2014] [Accepted: 05/09/2014] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Opioid addiction is a major social, economic, and medical problem worldwide. Long-term adverse consequences of chronic opiate exposure not only involve the individuals themselves but also their offspring. Adolescent maternal morphine exposure results in behavior and morphologic changes in the brain of their adult offspring. However, few studies investigate the effect of adult opiate exposure on their offspring. Furthermore, the underlying molecular signals regulating the intergenerational effects of morphine exposure are still elusive. We report here that morphine exposure of adult male and female rats resulted in anxiety-like behavior and dendritic retraction in the dentate gyrus (DG) region of the hippocampus in their adult offspring. The behavior and morphologic changes were concomitant with the downregulation of insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-2 signaling in the granular zone of DG. Overexpression of hippocampal IGF-2 by bilateral intra-DG injection of lentivirus encoding the IGF-2 gene prevented anxiety-like behaviors in the offspring. Furthermore, exposure to an enriched environment during adolescence corrected the reduction of hippocampal IGF-2 expression, normalized anxiety-like behavior and reversed dendritic retraction in the adult offspring. Thus, parental morphine exposure can lead to the downregulation of hippocampal IGF-2, which contributed to the anxiety and hippocampal dendritic retraction in their offspring. An adolescent-enriched environment experience prevented the behavior and morphologic changes in their offspring through hippocampal IGF-2 signaling. IGF-2 and an enriched environment may be a potential intervention to prevention of anxiety and brain atrophy in the offspring of parental opioid exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chang-Qi Li
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China
| | - Yan-Wei Luo
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China
| | - Fang-Fang Bi
- Department of Neurology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China
| | - Tao-Tao Cui
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China
| | - Ling Song
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China
| | - Wen-Yu Cao
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China
| | - Jian-Yi Zhang
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China
| | - Fang Li
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China
| | - Jun-Mei Xu
- Department of Anesthesiology, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China
| | - Wei Hao
- Institute of Mental Health, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China
| | - Xiao-Wei Xing
- Center for Medical Experiments, Third Xiang-Ya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China
| | - Fiona H Zhou
- School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, Division of Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Xin-Fu Zhou
- School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, Division of Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Ru-Ping Dai
- Department of Anesthesiology, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China,Department of Anesthesiology, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Ren-Min Road No. 86, Changsha, Hunan Province 410011, China, Tel: +86 731 85295970, Fax: +86 731 85292115, E-mail:
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21
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Behavioral effects of perinatal opioid exposure. Life Sci 2014; 104:1-8. [PMID: 24746901 DOI: 10.1016/j.lfs.2014.04.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2013] [Revised: 04/01/2014] [Accepted: 04/05/2014] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Opioids are among the world's oldest known drugs used mostly for pain relief, but recreational use is also widespread. A particularly important problem is opioid exposure in females, as their offspring can also be affected. Adverse intrauterine and postnatal environments can affect offspring development and may lead to various disabilities later in life. It is clear that repetitive painful experiences, such as randomly occurring invasive procedures during neonatal intensive care, can permanently alter neuronal and synaptic organization and therefore later behavior. At the same time, analgesic drugs can also be harmful, inducing neuronal apoptosis or withdrawal symptoms in the neonate and behavioral alterations in adulthood. Hence, risk-benefit ratios should be taken into consideration when pain relief is required during pregnancy or in neonates. Recreational use of opioids can also alter many aspects of life. Intrauterine opioid exposure has many toxic effects, inducing poor pregnancy outcomes due to underdevelopment, but it is believed that later negative consequences are more related to environmental factors such as a chaotic lifestyle and inadequate prenatal care. One of the crucial components is maternal care, which changes profoundly in addicted mothers. In substance-dependent mothers, pre- and postnatal care has special importance, and controlled treatment with a synthetic opioid (e.g., methadone) could be beneficial. We aimed to summarize and compare human and rodent data, as it is important to close the gap between scientific knowledge and societal policies. Special emphasis is given to gender differences in the sensitivity of offspring to perinatal opioid exposure.
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Mehta NS, Wang L, Redei EE. Sex differences in depressive, anxious behaviors and hippocampal transcript levels in a genetic rat model. GENES BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR 2013; 12:695-704. [PMID: 23876038 DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2013] [Revised: 04/30/2013] [Accepted: 07/18/2013] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a common, debilitating illness with high prevalence of comorbid anxiety. The incidence of depression and of comorbid anxiety is much higher in women than in men. These gender biases appear after puberty and their etiology is mostly unknown. Selective breeding of the Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rat strain, an accepted model of adult and adolescent depression, resulted in two fully inbred substrains. Adult WKY more immobile (WMI) rats of both sexes consistently show increased depression-like behavior in the forced swim test when compared with the control WKY less immobile (WLI) strain. In contrast, here we show that while adult female WMIs and WLIs both display high anxiety-like behaviors, only WLI males, but not WMI males, show this behavior. Moreover, the behavioral profile of WMI males is consistent from early adolescence to adulthood, but the high depression- and anxiety-like behaviors of the female WMIs appear only in adulthood. These sex-specific behavioral patterns are paralleled by marked sex differences in hippocampal gene expression differences established by genome-wide transcriptional analyses of 13th generation WMIs and WLIs. Moreover, sex- and age-specific differences in transcript levels of selected genes are present in the hippocampus of the current, fully inbred WMIs and WLIs. Thus, the contribution of specific genes and/or the influence of the gonadal hormonal environment to depression- and anxiety-like behaviors may differ between male and female WMIs, resulting in their distinct behavioral and transcriptomic profiles despite shared sequences of the somatic chromosomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- N S Mehta
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences; The Norman and Helen Asher Center for the Study of Depressive Disorders
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Mikhailenko VA, Butkevich IP, Lavrova YA, Bagaeva TR, Otellin VA. Effect of tonic pain on the corticosterone level in rat pups of various ages subjected to prenatal stress and opportunities for correction of stress-induced impairments. DOKLADY BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES : PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE USSR, BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES SECTIONS 2013; 450:134-138. [PMID: 23821050 DOI: 10.1134/s0012496613030204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2012] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- V A Mikhailenko
- Pavlov Institute of Physiology, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia
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Sithisarn T, Bada HS, Charnigo RJ, Legan SJ, Randall DC. Effects of perinatal oxycodone exposure on the cardiovascular response to acute stress in male rats at weaning and in young adulthood. Front Physiol 2013; 4:85. [PMID: 23630500 PMCID: PMC3633946 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2013.00085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2012] [Accepted: 04/02/2013] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
UNLABELLED Oxycodone (OXY) is one of the most commonly abused opiates during pregnancy. Perinatal opiate exposure (POE) is associated with neurobehavioral and hormone changes. Little is known about the effects of perinatal OXY on the cardiovascular (CV) responses to stress. OBJECTIVES to determine the effects of POE on: (1) CV responses to acute stress and ability to discriminate using a classical conditioning paradigm; (2) changes in CV response to the paradigm and retention of the ability to discriminate from postnatal day (PD) 40 to young adulthood. METHODS Pregnant rats were given i.v. OXY or vehicle (CON) daily. OXY and CON males were fitted with BP telemetry units. Offspring were classically conditioned by following a pulsed tone (CS+) with tail shock. A steady tone (CS-) was not followed by shock. BP and HR were recorded during resting periods and conditioning. Changes in BP, HR from composite analysis were compared. The paradigm was repeated on PD 75. RESULTS At PD 40, OXY rats had a lower baseline mean BP (OXY: 114.8 ± 1.0 vs. CON: 118.3 ± 1.0 mm Hg; mean ± SEM) but larger amplitude of the conditional BP increase during the stress response (OXY: +3.9 ± 0.4 vs. CON: +1.7 ± 0.4 mm Hg). Both OXY and CON rats were able to discriminate between CS+ and CS-. At PD 75, the effects of OXY on the increased amplitude of the conditional BP had dissipated (CON: +3.4 ± 2.3 vs. OXY: +4.5 ± 1.4 mm Hg). BP responses to the stress and non-stress stimuli did not differ in the OXY group, suggesting that OXY may have decreased the ability of the offspring to discriminate (OXY: CS+: 147.1 ± 1.6, CS-: 145.9 ± 1.6 mm Hg vs. CON: CS+: 155.4 ± 2.7, CS-: 147.8 ± 2.7 mm Hg). CONCLUSION POE is associated with subtle alterations in stress CV responses in weanling rats which dissipate when the conditioning is repeated at an early adult age. Although POE effect on the ability to discriminate at weanling age could not be detected, POE may impair retention of this ability in adulthood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thitinart Sithisarn
- Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, University of KentuckyLexington, KY, USA
| | - Henrietta S. Bada
- Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, University of KentuckyLexington, KY, USA
| | - Richard J. Charnigo
- Department of Biostatistics, College of Public Health and Department of Statistics, College of Arts and Sciences, University of KentuckyLexington, KY, USA
| | - Sandra J. Legan
- Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, University of KentuckyLexington, KY, USA
| | - David C. Randall
- Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, University of KentuckyLexington, KY, USA
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Lutz PE, Kieffer BL. Opioid receptors: distinct roles in mood disorders. Trends Neurosci 2012; 36:195-206. [PMID: 23219016 DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2012.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 345] [Impact Index Per Article: 28.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2012] [Revised: 09/20/2012] [Accepted: 11/05/2012] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The roles of opioid receptors in pain and addiction have been extensively studied, but their function in mood disorders has received less attention. Accumulating evidence from animal research reveals that mu, delta and kappa opioid receptors (MORs, DORs and KORs, respectively) exert highly distinct controls over mood-related processes. DOR agonists and KOR antagonists have promising antidepressant potential, whereas the risk-benefit ratio of currently available MOR agonists as antidepressants remains difficult to evaluate, in addition to their inherent abuse liability. To date, both human and animal studies have mainly examined MORs in the etiology of depressive disorders, and future studies will address DOR and KOR function in established and emerging neurobiological aspects of depression, including neurogenesis, neurodevelopment, and social behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierre-Eric Lutz
- Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, Centre National de Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Strasbourg, France
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Abstract
This paper is the thirty-fourth consecutive installment of the annual review of research concerning the endogenous opioid system. It summarizes papers published during 2011 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 (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, Flushing, NY 11367, United States.
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