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Grotell M, den Hollander B, Jalkanen A, Törrönen E, Ihalainen J, de Miguel E, Dudek M, Kettunen MI, Hyytiä P, Forsberg MM, Kankuri E, Korpi ER. Alcohol Co-Administration Changes Mephedrone-Induced Alterations of Neuronal Activity. Front Pharmacol 2021; 12:679759. [PMID: 33995109 PMCID: PMC8115874 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2021.679759] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2021] [Accepted: 04/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Mephedrone (4-MMC), despite its illegal status, is still a widely used psychoactive substance. Its effects closely mimic those of the classical stimulant drug methamphetamine (METH). Recent research suggests that unlike METH, 4-MMC is not neurotoxic on its own. However, the neurotoxic effects of 4-MMC may be precipitated under certain circumstances, such as administration at high ambient temperatures. Common use of 4-MMC in conjunction with alcohol raises the question whether this co-consumption could also precipitate neurotoxicity. A total of six groups of adolescent rats were treated twice daily for four consecutive days with vehicle, METH (5 mg/kg) or 4-MMC (30 mg/kg), with or without ethanol (1.5 g/kg). To investigate persistent delayed effects of the administrations at two weeks after the final treatments, manganese-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging brain scans were performed. Following the scans, brains were collected for Golgi staining and spine analysis. 4-MMC alone had only subtle effects on neuronal activity. When administered with ethanol, it produced a widespread pattern of deactivation, similar to what was seen with METH-treated rats. These effects were most profound in brain regions which are known to have high dopamine and serotonin activities including hippocampus, nucleus accumbens and caudate-putamen. In the regions showing the strongest activation changes, no morphological changes were observed in spine analysis. By itself 4-MMC showed few long-term effects. However, when co-administered with ethanol, the apparent functional adaptations were profound and comparable to those of neurotoxic METH.
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Affiliation(s)
- Milo Grotell
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Bjørnar den Hollander
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Aaro Jalkanen
- School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Essi Törrönen
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Jouni Ihalainen
- School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Elena de Miguel
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Mateusz Dudek
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Mikko I Kettunen
- Kuopio Biomedical Imaging Unit, A.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Petri Hyytiä
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Markus M Forsberg
- School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Esko Kankuri
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Esa R Korpi
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
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de Moura FB, Sherwood A, Prisinzano TE, Paronis CA, Bergman J, Kohut SJ. Reinforcing effects of synthetic cathinones in rhesus monkeys: Dose-response and behavioral economic analyses. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2021; 202:173112. [PMID: 33444603 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2021.173112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2020] [Revised: 12/31/2020] [Accepted: 12/31/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
The abuse of synthetic cathinones ("bath salts") with psychomotor stimulant and/or entactogenic properties emerged as a public health concern when they were introduced as "legal" alternatives to drugs of abuse such as cocaine or MDMA. In this study, experiments were conducted in nonhuman primates to examine how differences in transporter selectivity might impact the reinforcing effects of synthetic cathinones. Rhesus monkeys (N = 5) were trained to respond for intravenous injections under a fixed-ratio (FR) 30, timeout 60-s schedule of reinforcement. The reinforcing effects of selected cathinones (e.g., MDPV, αPVP, MCAT, and methylone) with a range of pharmacological effects at dopamine and serotonin transporters were compared to cocaine and MDMA using dose-response analysis under a simple FR schedule and behavioral economic procedures that generated demand curves for two doses of each drug. Results show that one or more doses of all drugs were readily self-administered in each subject and, excepting MDMA (21 injections/session), peak levels of self-administration were similar across drugs (between 30 and 40 injections/session). Demand elasticity for the peak and the peak + 1/2-log dose of each drug did not significantly differ, and when data for the two doses were averaged for each drug, the following rank-order of reinforcing strength emerged: cocaine > MCAT = MDPV = methylone > αPVP = MDMA. These results indicate that the reinforcing strength of synthetic cathinones are not related to their selectivity in binding dopamine or serotonin transporter sites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fernando B de Moura
- Behavioral Biology Program, McLean Hospital, 115 Mill St., Belmont, MA 02478, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, 25 Shattuck St, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | | | - Thomas E Prisinzano
- College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, 789 S. Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40536, USA
| | - Carol A Paronis
- Behavioral Biology Program, McLean Hospital, 115 Mill St., Belmont, MA 02478, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, 25 Shattuck St, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Jack Bergman
- Behavioral Biology Program, McLean Hospital, 115 Mill St., Belmont, MA 02478, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, 25 Shattuck St, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Stephen J Kohut
- Behavioral Biology Program, McLean Hospital, 115 Mill St., Belmont, MA 02478, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, 25 Shattuck St, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
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Bade AN, Gendelman HE, Boska MD, Liu Y. MEMRI is a biomarker defining nicotine-specific neuronal responses in subregions of the rodent brain. Am J Transl Res 2017; 9:601-610. [PMID: 28337287 PMCID: PMC5340694] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2016] [Accepted: 01/26/2017] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Nicotine dependence is defined by dopaminergic neuronal activation within the nucleus accumbens (ACB) and by affected neural projections from nicotine-stimulated neurons. Control of any subsequent neural activities would underpin any smoking cessation strategy. While extensive efforts have been made to study the pathophysiology of nicotine addiction, more limited works were developed to find imaging biomarkers. If such biomarkers are made available, addictive behaviors could be monitored noninvasively. To such ends, we employed manganese (Mn2+)-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MEMRI) to determine whether it could be used to monitor neuronal activities after acute and chronic nicotine exposure in rats. The following were observed. Mn2+ infusion identified ACB and hippocampal (HIP) neuronal activities following acute nicotine administration. Chronic exposure was achieved by week long subcutaneously implanted nicotine mini-pump. Here nicotine was shown to activate neurons in the ACB, HIP, and the prefrontal and insular cortex. These are all central nervous system reward regions linked to drug addiction. In conclusion, MEMRI is demonstrated to be a powerful imaging tool to study brain subregion specific neuronal activities affected by nicotine. Thus, we posit that MEMRI could be used to assess smoking-associated tolerance, withdrawal and as such serve as a pre-clinical screening tool for addiction cessation strategies in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aditya N Bade
- Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience, University of Nebraska Medical CenterOmaha 68198-5880, NE, United States
| | - Howard E Gendelman
- Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience, University of Nebraska Medical CenterOmaha 68198-5880, NE, United States
| | - Michael D Boska
- Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience, University of Nebraska Medical CenterOmaha 68198-5880, NE, United States
- Department of Radiology, University of Nebraska Medical CenterOmaha 68198-5880, NE, United States
| | - Yutong Liu
- Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience, University of Nebraska Medical CenterOmaha 68198-5880, NE, United States
- Department of Radiology, University of Nebraska Medical CenterOmaha 68198-5880, NE, United States
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