Cue-elicited drug craving represses ERK activation in mice prefrontal association cortex

A role of frontal association cortex in long-term object recognition memory of objects with complex features in rats

Perirhinal cortex is a brain area that has been considered crucial for the object recognition memory (ORM). However, with the use of an ORM enhancer named RGS14414 as gain-in-function tool, we show here that frontal association cortex and not the Perirhinal cortex is essential for the ORM of objects with complex features that consisted of detailed drawing on the object surface (complex ORM). An expression of RGS14414, in rat brain frontal association cortex, induced the formation of long-term complex ORM, whereas the expression of the same memory enhancer in Perirhinal cortex failed to produce this effect. Instead, RGS14414 expression in Perirhinal cortex caused the formation of ORM of objects with simple features that consisted of the shape of object (simple ORM). Further, a selective elimination of frontal association cortex neurons by treatment with an immunotoxin Ox7-SAP completely abrogated the formation of complex ORM. Thus, our results suggest that frontal association cortex plays a key role in processing of a high-order recognition memory information in brain.

Phosphorylation of GluN2B subunits of N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors in the frontal association cortex involved in morphine-induced conditioned place preference in mice

Morphine is one of the most abused drugs in the world, which has resulted in serious social problems. The frontal association cortex (FrA) has been shown to play a key role in memory formation and drug addiction. N-Methyl-d-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) are abundant in the prefrontal cortex (PFc) and much evidence indicates that GluN2B-containing NMDARs are involved in morphine-induced conditioned place preference (CPP). However, the function of GluN2B in the FrA during morphine-induced CPP has yet to be fully investigated. In the present work, a CPP animal model was employed to measure the expression of phosphorylated (p-) GluN2B (Serine; Ser 1303) in the FrA and NAc in different phases of morphine-induced CPP. We found that p-GluN2B (Ser 1303) was increased in the FrA during the development and reinstatement phases but unchanged in the extinction phase. The use of ifenprodil, a GluN2B-specific antagonist, to block the activity of GluN2B in the two phases attenuated morphine-induced CPP and reinstatement. Furthermore, ifenprodil also blocked morphine-induced upregulation of p-GluN2B (Ser 1303) in the FrA in both phases. These results indicate that GluN2B-containing NMDARs in the FrA may be involved in the regulation of morphine-induced CPP and reinstatement.

Dezocine Alleviates Morphine-Induced Dependence in Rats

BACKGROUND

Opioid dependence is a major public health issue without optimal therapeutics. This study investigates the potential therapeutic effect of dezocine, a nonaddictive opioid, in opioid dependence in rat models.

METHODS

Dezocine was administered intraperitoneally to a morphine-dependent rat model to investigate its effect on withdrawal and conditioned place preference (CPP). Effect of dezocine on morphine withdrawal syndrome and CPP was analyzed using 2-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Tukey's post hoc test. Buprenorphine and vehicle solution containing 20% (v/v) dimethyl sulfoxide were used for positive and negative control, respectively. The astrocytes activation in nucleus accumbens was assessed by immunofluorescence assay of glial fibrillary acidic protein. Effect of dezocine and buprenorphine on the internalization of κ opioid receptor (KOR) was investigated using Neuro2A expressing KOR fused to red fluorescent protein tdTomato (KOR-tdT). Buprenorphine and dezocine were screened against 44 G-protein-coupled receptors, ion channels, and transporter proteins using radioligand-binding assay to compare the molecular targets.

RESULTS

The mean withdrawal score was reduced in rats treated with 1.25 mg·kg dezocine compared to vehicle-treated control animals starting from the day 1 (mean difference: 7.8; 95% confidence interval [CI], 6.35-9.25; P < .0001 by 2-way ANOVA). Significance was observed at all treatment days, including day 7 (mean difference: 2.13; 95% CI, 0.68-3.58; P < .001 by 2-way ANOVA). Furthermore, dezocine inhibited the reinstatement of morphine-induced CPP (mean difference: 314; 95% CI, 197.9-430.1; P < .0001 by 2-way ANOVA) compared to the control group. Chronic morphine administration induced astrocytes activation in nucleus accumbens, which was attenuated by dezocine. Dezocine blocked the agonist-induced KOR internalization in vitro, 1 of the mechanisms involved in the downstream signaling and development of opioid dependence. Dezocine had affinity to norepinephrine and serotonin transporters and sigma-1 receptor, whereas buprenorphine showed no activity against these targets.

CONCLUSIONS

Dezocine could potentially be used to alleviate opioid dependence. Due to the unique molecular target profile different from buprenorphine, it might have important value in studying the mechanisms of morphine dependence and developing novel therapeutic approaches.

Brain Reward Circuits in Morphine Addiction

Morphine is the most potent analgesic for chronic pain, but its clinical use has been limited by the opiate's innate tendency to produce tolerance, severe withdrawal symptoms and rewarding properties with a high risk of relapse. To understand the addictive properties of morphine, past studies have focused on relevant molecular and cellular changes in the brain, highlighting the functional roles of reward-related brain regions. Given the accumulated findings, a recent, emerging trend in morphine research is that of examining the dynamics of neuronal interactions in brain reward circuits under the influence of morphine action. In this review, we highlight recent findings on the roles of several reward circuits involved in morphine addiction based on pharmacological, molecular and physiological evidences.

Reciprocal activation/inactivation of ERK in the amygdala and frontal cortex is correlated with the degree of novelty of an open-field environment

RATIONALE

Phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) has been used to identify brain areas activated by exogenous stimuli including psychostimulant drugs.

OBJECTIVE

Assess the role of the amygdala in emotional responses.

METHODS

Experimental manipulations were performed in which environmental familiarity was the variable. To provide the maximal degree of familiarity, ERK was measured after removal from the home cage and re-placement back into the same cage. To maximize exposure to an unfamiliar environment, ERK was measured following placement into a novel open field. To assess whether familiarity was the critical variable in the ERK response to the novel open field, ERK was also measured after either four or eight placements into the same environment. ERK quantification was carried out in the amygdala, frontal cortex, and the nucleus accumbens.

RESULTS

After home cage re-placement, ERK activation was found in the frontal cortex and nucleus accumbens but was absent in the amygdala. Following placement in a novel environment, ERK activation was more prominent in the amygdala than the frontal cortex or nucleus accumbens. In contrast, with habituation to the novel environment, ERK phosphors declined markedly in the amygdala but increased in the frontal cortex and nucleus accumbens to the level observed following home cage re-placement.

CONCLUSIONS

The differential responsiveness of the amygdala versus the frontal cortex and the nucleus accumbens to a novel versus a habituated environment is consistent with a reciprocal interaction between these neural systems and points to their important role in the mediation of behavioral activation to novelty and behavioral inactivation with habituation.

Gradient Index Microlens Implanted in Prefrontal Cortex of Mouse Does Not Affect Behavioral Test Performance over Time

Implanted gradient index lenses have extended the reach of standard multiphoton microscopy from the upper layers of the mouse cortex to the lower cortical layers and even subcortical regions. These lenses have the clarity to visualize dynamic activities, such as calcium transients, with subcellular and millisecond resolution and the stability to facilitate repeated imaging over weeks and months. In addition, behavioral tests can be used to correlate performance with observed changes in network function and structure that occur over time. Yet, this raises the questions, does an implanted microlens have an effect on behavioral tests, and if so, what is the extent of the effect? To answer these questions, we compared the performance of three groups of mice in three common behavioral tests. A gradient index lens was implanted in the prefrontal cortex of experimental mice. We compared their performance with mice that had either a cranial window or a sham surgery. Three presurgical and five postsurgical sets of behavioral tests were performed over seven weeks. Behavioral tests included rotarod, foot fault, and Morris water maze. No significant differences were found between the three groups, suggesting that microlens implantation did not affect performance. The results for the current study clear the way for combining behavioral studies with gradient index lens imaging in the prefrontal cortex, and potentially other regions of the mouse brain, to study structural, functional, and behavioral relationships in the brain.

Dopamine D3 receptor-regulated NR2B subunits of N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors in the nucleus accumbens involves in morphine-induced locomotor activity

AIMS

Dopamine and glutamate receptors are densely expressed in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). Active interactions between these receptors contribute to the development of neuropsychiatric diseases, such as drug addiction and relapse. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying these interactions remain unclear.

METHODS

This study established a mouse model of intermittent morphine-induced mouse behavioral sensitization model. Western blot and electrophysiological recording methods were performed to directly identify the affective components of morphine behavioral sensitization.

RESULTS

Interval morphine administration could cause significant locomotor sensitization. Hyperlocomotion and behavioral locomotor sensitization were significantly suppressed when ifenprodil (5 mg/kg), a selective NR2B subunit-containing N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, or nafadotride (25 μg/kg), a dopamine D3 receptor (D3R)-preferring antagonist, was coadministered with morphine. Western blot analysis showed that morphine behavioral sensitization induced a region-specific increase in phosphorylation of NR2B (pNR2B) and total levels of NR2B (NR2B) expression in the NAc. Systemically administered nafadotride attenuated behavioral locomotor sensitization induced by morphine and significantly reversed the overexpression of pNR2B and NR2B subunit-containing NMDA receptor in the NAc. NMDA receptor-mediated excitatory postsynaptic currents in the NAc were also significantly reduced by nafadotride.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that D3Rs are involved in morphine-induced behavioral locomotor sensitization in mice by regulating the NR2B subunits of NMDA receptors in the NAc.

Differential effect of beta-adrenergic receptor antagonism in basolateral amygdala on reconsolidation of aversive and appetitive memories associated with morphine in rats

Positive and negative emotional experiences induced by addictive drugs play an important role in the development of dysfunctional drug-related memory, which becomes resistant to extinction and contributes to high rate of relapse. Those memories may undergo a process called reconsolidation that in some cases can be disrupted by pharmacological treatment. The basolateral amygdala (BLA) has been shown to mediate the reconsolidation of drug-related appetitive memory, but its role in withdrawal-related aversive memory remains elusive. The present study used conditioned place preference (CPP) and conditioned place aversion (CPA) paradigms to investigate the role of BLA and its noradrenergic receptors in reconsolidation of morphine-associated emotional memory in rats. We found that inhibition of protein synthesis in BLA disrupted the reconsolidation of morphine CPP (m-CPP) and CPA related to morphine withdrawal (m-CPA). A high dose of the β-noradrenergic receptor antagonist propranolol (3 µg) in BLA-impaired reconsolidation of m-CPA but not m-CPP, whereas a low dose (0.3 µg) was ineffective. In contrast, neither low nor high doses of the α-noradrenergic receptor antagonist phentolamine (1 or 10 µg) blocked the reconsolidation of m-CPP and m-CPA. In addition, infusion of propranolol (3 µg) into nucleus accumbens after retrieval of either m-CPP or m-CPA did not affect its reconsolidation. The findings indicate that appetitive and aversive addictive memories share common neural substrates in BLA, but the specific neurotransmitter mechanism on reconsolidation of morphine-associated negative and positive memories can be dissociable.

Regional expression of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1 and 2 mRNA in a morphine-induced conditioned place preference model

Chronic morphine administration has been shown to change the expression of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), which is a molecule known to play an important role in homeostatic adaptations caused by addictive drugs. In the present study, we investigated the expression of ERK messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) of the prefrontal cortex (PFC), nucleus accumbens (NAc), hippocampus, and caudate putamen (CPu) in morphine-induced conditioned place preference (CPP) by real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR). CPP was established by alternate morphine (10 mg/kg) injections, extinguished after a 10-day extinction training, and reinstated by a priming injection of morphine (10 mg/kg). During three phases of morphine-induced CPP, the expression levels of ERK1 and ERK2 mRNA were altered in various brain regions. In the PFC, the expression levels of ERK1 and ERK2 mRNA were increased after chronic morphine injection (p=0.003, p=0.000), and did not return to the basal level after extinction training (p=0.025, p=0.000), but decreased after a priming injection (p=0.000, p=0.000). In the CPu, ERK1 mRNA had an abrupt increase following a priming injection (p=0.000). Different from other brain regions, the expression levels of ERK1 and ERK2 mRNA were decreased in three phases of morphine-induced CPP in the hippocampus (ERK1: p=0.000, p=0.040, p=0.000; ERK2: p=0.000, p=0.000, p=0.000, respectively). These results suggest region-specific changes of ERK1 and ERK2 mRNA expression during morphine-induced CPP.

Memory reconsolidation in aversive and appetitive settings

Memory reconsolidation has been observed across species and in a number of behavioral paradigms. The majority of memory reconsolidation studies have been carried out in Pavlovian fear conditioning and other aversive memory settings, with potential implications for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder. However, there is a growing literature on memory reconsolidation in appetitive reward-related memory paradigms, including translational models of drug addiction. While there appears to be substantial similarity in the basic phenomenon and underlying mechanisms of memory reconsolidation across unconditioned stimulus valence, there are also notable discrepancies. These arise both when comparing aversive to appetitive paradigms and also across different paradigms within the same valence of memory. We review the demonstration of memory reconsolidation across different aversive and appetitive memory paradigms, the commonalities and differences in underlying mechanisms and the conditions under which each memory undergoes reconsolidation. We focus particularly on whether principles derived from the aversive literature are applicable to appetitive settings, and also whether the expanding literature in appetitive paradigms is informative for fear memory reconsolidation.

Distinct roles of methamphetamine in modulating spatial memory consolidation, retrieval, reconsolidation and the accompanying changes of ERK and CREB activation in hippocampus and prefrontal cortex

Drugs of abuse modulated learning and memory in humans yet the underlying mechanism remained unclear. The extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and the transcription factor cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) were involved in neuroplastic changes associated with learning and memory. In the current study, we used a Morris water maze to examine the effect of methamphetamine (METH) on different processes of spatial memory in mice. We then investigated the status of ERK and CREB in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex (PFC). We found that 1.0 mg/kg dose of METH facilitated spatial memory consolidation when it was injected immediately after the last learning trial. In contrast, the same dose of METH had no effect on spatial memory retrieval when it was injected 30 min before the test. Furthermore, 1.0 mg/kg dose of METH injected immediately after retrieval had no effect on spatial memory reconsolidation. Activation of both ERK and CREB in the hippocampus was found following memory consolidation but not after retrieval or reconsolidation in METH-treated mouse groups. In contrast, activation of both ERK and CREB in the PFC was found following memory retrieval but not other processes in METH-treated mouse groups. These results suggested that METH facilitated spatial memory consolidation but not retrieval or reconsolidation. Moreover, activation of the ERK and CREB signaling pathway in the hippocampus might be involved in METH-induced spatial memory changes.

Post-training cocaine exposure facilitates spatial memory consolidation in C57BL/6 mice

In this study, we examined the ability of post-training injections of cocaine to facilitate spatial memory performance using the Morris water maze (MWM). We also investigated the role that hippocampal protein kinase A (PKA) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK) signaling may play in cocaine-mediated spatial memory consolidation processes. Male and female C57BL/6 mice were first trained in a MWM task (eight consecutive trials) then injected with cocaine (0, 1.25, 2.5, 5, or 20 mg/kg), and memory for the platform location was retested after a 24 h delay. Cocaine had a dose-dependent effect on spatial memory performance because only the mice receiving 2.5 mg/kg cocaine displayed a significant reduction in latency to locate the platform. No sex differences in MWM performance were observed; however, females showed higher hippocampal levels of PKA when compared with males. A second experiment demonstrated that 2.5 mg/kg cocaine enhanced MWM performance only when administered within 2, but not 4 h after spatial training. We also found that cocaine (2.5 mg/kg) increased ERK2 phosphorylation within the hippocampus and one of its downstream targets (ribosomal S6 kinase), a mechanism that may be responsible, at least in part, for the enhanced cocaine-mediated spatial memory performance. Overall, these data demonstrate that a low dose of cocaine (2.5 mg/kg) administered within 2 h after training facilitates MWM spatial memory performance in C57BL/6 mice.

Endogenous opiates and behavior: 2008

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).

Naloxone-precipitated withdrawal enhances ERK phosphorylation in prefrontal association cortex and accumbens nucleus of morphine-dependent mice

Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) can be activated by opioids such as morphine via opioid receptor, and their activations have been observed in synaptic plasticity, learning, memory and addiction. Long-term exposure to morphine may induce physical dependence, manifested as somatic withdrawal symptoms such as diarrhea, body weight loss, jumping and headshaking, when drug is deprived. Though morphine dependence and withdrawal have been extensively studied, their molecular mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. In the present study, the physical dependence on morphine was developed in mice by an intermittent, escalating procedure of morphine injections, and was measured by the body weight loss and the behavioral signs (jumping and headshaking). We found that the mice with chronic morphine administration experienced dramatic body weight loss, compared with the saline-treated controls. Naloxone-precipitated withdrawal led to more body weight loss, compared with spontaneous withdrawal. Naloxone-precipitated withdrawal mice showed significantly aggravated morphine-withdrawal symptoms (including jumping and heading shaking), compared with spontaneous withdrawal mice. MAPK pathway activities in the frontal association cortex (FrA), accumbens nucleus (Acb) and caudate putamen (CPu) were examined to probe into molecular mechanism for morphine dependence and withdrawal. Compared with saline-treated mice, morphine-dependent mice and spontaneous withdrawal mice, naloxone-precipitated withdrawal mice showed a significantly increased ERK phosphorylation in FrA and Acb, but not in CPu. However, the activities of other protein kinases in the MAPK pathway, including p38 and JNK, showed no changes in FrA, Acb and CPu of the mice during the chronic morphine dependence and withdrawal phases. These results suggest that the ERK phosphorylation in FrA and Acb may be associated with naloxone-precipitated withdrawal syndrome.