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Castelli V, Plescia F, Maniaci G, Lavanco G, Pizzolanti G, Brancato A, Cannizzaro C. Alcohol binge drinking in adolescence and psychological profile: Can the preclinical model crack the chicken-or-egg question? Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:996965. [PMID: 36159952 PMCID: PMC9500321 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.996965] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2022] [Accepted: 08/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
During adolescence, internal and external factors contribute to engaging with alcohol binge drinking (ABD), putting at risk the neurodevelopment of brain regions crucial for emotional control and stress coping. This research assessed the prevalence of ABD in late adolescent students of Southern Italy and characterized their psychological profile and drinking motives. Translational effects of alcohol binge drinking in the animal model were also studied. Seven hundred and fifty-nine high school students of both sexes (aged 18-20) were recruited. Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test-Consumption (AUDIT-C), Drinking Motives Questionnaire-Revised Short Form, Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-Third Ed., State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, and Basic Self-Esteem Scale identified alcohol habits, drinking motives, and psychopathological profile. Eighty-five percentage of the students drank alcohol and 28% of them engaged in ABD; AUDIT-C correlated with enhancement, coping, and conformity motives. ABD was related to a greater likelihood of presenting clinical syndromes and personality disorders, as well as low resilience and self-esteem. Thereafter, in the pre-clinical model, adolescent male rats were exposed to alcohol (3.5 g/kg) in an intermittent binge-like paradigm and tested during prolonged abstinence. Rats were evaluated for anxiety-like behavior, motivated behaviors, resilience, and stress response following a psychosocial challenge. Binge-like alcohol-exposed adolescent rats displayed high integrated z-score for social- and novelty-induced anxiety, altered motivation-driven output, decreased resilience, and a blunted HPA axis response to psychosocial stress, with respect to respective controls. Our data confirm that ABD is the chosen pattern of drinking in a significant percentage of high school students in Southern Italy, and highlights AUDIT-C score as a relevant parameter able to predict the occurrence of affective disturbances. The evidence from the preclinical model shows that ABD produces detrimental consequences in the adolescent rat brain, resulting in negative affect, emotional dysregulation, and aberrant stress response, pointing to decreasing excessive alcohol drinking as a primary goal for the global act for brain health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Castelli
- Department of Biomedicine, Neurosciences and Advanced Diagnostics, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Fulvio Plescia
- Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Maniaci
- Department of Biomedicine, Neurosciences and Advanced Diagnostics, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Gianluca Lavanco
- Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Pizzolanti
- Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Anna Brancato
- Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Carla Cannizzaro
- Department of Biomedicine, Neurosciences and Advanced Diagnostics, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
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Zhao T, Gao X, Huang GB. Effects of Chronic Social Defeat Stress on Behavior and Dopamine Receptors in Adolescent Mice With 6-Hydroxydopamine Lesions of the Medial Prefrontal Cortex. Front Behav Neurosci 2021; 15:731373. [PMID: 34912197 PMCID: PMC8667729 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2021.731373] [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: 07/27/2021] [Accepted: 10/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Social stress factors in schizophrenia have long-term effects, but will only induce symptoms in a portion of individuals, even if exposed to identical stress. Methods: In the current experiment, we examined mice with 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-induced medial prefrontal cortical (mPFC) injury to select for members of a “stress-susceptible group,” and observed the changes in their behavior and the expression of D1 and D2 dopamine receptors in the amygdala and hippocampus. Results: We observed that after chronic social defeat stress, 72.6% of the 6-OHDA lesioned mice exhibited stress response to aggressors, compared to 52.3% of the blank control group. Both the 6-OHDA lesion + social defeat and social defeat groups exhibited anxiety and depression-like behavior. However, social cognitive impairment in the mice from the 6-OHDA lesion + social defeat group was more significant and the D1 expression levels in the amygdala were significantly decreased. Conclusion: These results suggest that the reason that adolescent mice with cortical injury were highly sensitive to defeat stress and had more prominent social cognitive impairment may be the decreased selectivity of D1 in the amygdala.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tong Zhao
- Department of Psychiatry, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, China
| | - XiaoLei Gao
- School of Nursing, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, China
| | - Guang-Biao Huang
- Department of Psychiatry, Huzhou Third Municipal Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Huzhou University, Huzhou, China
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Binge-like Alcohol Exposure in Adolescence: Behavioural, Neuroendocrine and Molecular Evidence of Abnormal Neuroplasticity… and Return. Biomedicines 2021; 9:biomedicines9091161. [PMID: 34572345 PMCID: PMC8470908 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines9091161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2021] [Revised: 08/29/2021] [Accepted: 08/30/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Binge alcohol consumption among adolescents affects the developing neural networks underpinning reward and stress processing in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). This study explores in rats the long-lasting effects of early intermittent exposure to intoxicating alcohol levels at adolescence, on: (1) the response to natural positive stimuli and inescapable stress; (2) stress-axis functionality; and (3) dopaminergic and glutamatergic neuroadaptation in the NAc. We also assess the potential effects of the non-intoxicating phytocannabinoid cannabidiol, to counteract (or reverse) the development of detrimental consequences of binge-like alcohol exposure. Our results show that adolescent binge-like alcohol exposure alters the sensitivity to positive stimuli, exerts social and novelty-triggered anxiety-like behaviour, and passive stress-coping during early and prolonged withdrawal. In addition, serum corticosterone and hypothalamic and NAc corticotropin-releasing hormone levels progressively increase during withdrawal. Besides, NAc tyrosine hydroxylase levels increase at late withdrawal, while the expression of dopamine transporter, D1 and D2 receptors is dynamically altered during binge and withdrawal. Furthermore, the expression of markers of excitatory postsynaptic signaling—PSD95; Homer-1 and -2 and the activity-regulated spine-morphing proteins Arc, LIM Kinase 1 and FOXP1—increase at late withdrawal. Notably, subchronic cannabidiol, during withdrawal, attenuates social- and novelty-induced aversion and passive stress-coping and rectifies the hyper-responsive stress axis and NAc dopamine and glutamate-related neuroplasticity. Overall, the exposure to binge-like alcohol levels in adolescent rats makes the NAc, during withdrawal, a locus minoris resistentiae as a result of perturbations in neuroplasticity and in stress-axis homeostasis. Cannabidiol holds a promising potential for increasing behavioural, neuroendocrine and molecular resilience against binge-like alcohol harmful effects.
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Acetaldehyde Excitation of Lateral Habenular Neurons via Multiple Cellular Mechanisms. J Neurosci 2021; 41:7532-7545. [PMID: 34326141 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2913-20.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2020] [Revised: 06/26/2021] [Accepted: 07/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Acetaldehyde (ACD), the first metabolite of ethanol, is implicated in several of ethanol's actions, including the reinforcing and aversive effects. The neuronal mechanisms underlying ACD's aversive effect, however, are poorly understood. The lateral habenula (LHb), a regulator of midbrain monoaminergic centers, is activated by negative valence events. Although the LHb has been linked to the aversive responses of several abused drugs, including ethanol, little is known about ACD. We, therefore, assessed ACD's action on LHb neurons in rats. The results showed that intraperitoneal injection of ACD increased cFos protein expression within the LHb and that intra-LHb infusion of ACD induced conditioned place aversion in male rats. Furthermore, electrophysiological recording in brain slices of male and female rats showed that bath application of ACD facilitated spontaneous firing and glutamatergic transmission. This effect of ACD was potentiated by an aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) inhibitor, disulfiram (DS), but attenuated by the antagonists of dopamine (DA) receptor (DAR) subtype 1 (SCH23390) and subtype 2 (raclopride), and partly abolished by the pretreatment of DA or DA reuptake blocker (GBR12935; GBR). Moreover, application of ACD initiated a depolarizing inward current (I ACD) and enhanced the hyperpolarizing-activated currents in LHb neurons. Bath application of Rp-cAMPs, a selective cAMP-PKA inhibitor, attenuated ACD-induced potentiation of EPSCs and I ACD Finally, bath application of ZD7288, a selective blocker of hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated channels, attenuated ACD-induced potentiation of firing, EPSCs, and I ACD These results show that ACD exerts its aversive property by exciting LHb neurons via multiple cellular mechanisms, and new treatments targeting the LHb may be beneficial for alcoholism.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Acetaldehyde (ACD) has been considered aversive peripherally and rewarding centrally. However, whether ACD has a central aversive property is unclear. Here, we report that ACD excites the lateral habenula (LHb), a brain region associated with aversion and negative valence, through multiple cellular and molecular mechanisms. Intra-LHb ACD produces significant conditioned place aversion. These results suggest that ACD's actions on the LHb neurons might contribute to its central aversive property and new treatments targeting the LHb may be beneficial for alcoholism.
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Ryu IS, Kim J, Yang JH, Seo SY, Sohn S, Kim S, Lee K, Seo JW, Choe ES. Exposure to Commercial Cigarette Smoke Produces Psychomotor Sensitization Via Hyperstimulation of Glutamate Response in the Dorsal Striatum. Brain Sci 2020; 11:brainsci11010014. [PMID: 33374316 PMCID: PMC7830476 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11010014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2020] [Revised: 12/11/2020] [Accepted: 12/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Cigarette smoke is a highly complex mixture of nicotine and non-nicotine constituents. Exposure to cigarette smoke enhances tobacco dependence by potentiating glutamatergic neurotransmission via stimulation of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs). We investigated the effects of nicotine and non-nicotine alkaloids in the cigarette smoke condensates extracted from two commercial cigarette brands in South Korea (KCSC A and KCSC B) on psychomotor behaviors and glutamate levels in the dorsal striatum. Repeated and challenge administration of KCSCs (nicotine content: 0.4 mg/kg, subcutaneous) increased psychomotor behaviors (ambulatory, rearing, and rotational activities) and time spent in psychoactive behavioral states compared to exposure to nicotine (0.4 mg/kg) alone. The increase in psychomotor behaviors lasted longer when exposed to repeated and challenge administration of KCSCs compared to nicotine alone. In parallel with sustained increase in psychomotor behaviors, repeated administration of KCSCs also caused long-lasting glutamate release in the dorsal striatum compared to nicotine alone. KCSC-induced changes in psychomotor behaviors and glutamate levels in the dorsal striatum were found to be strongly correlated. These findings suggest that non-nicotine alkaloids in commercial cigarette smoke synergistically act with nicotine on nAChRs, thereby upregulating glutamatergic response in the dorsal striatum, which contributes to the hypersensitization of psychomotor behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- In Soo Ryu
- Department of Biological Sciences, Pusan National University, 63-2 Busandaehak-ro, Geumjeong-gu, Busan 46241, Korea; (J.K.); (J.H.Y.); (S.Y.S.); (S.S.); (S.K.)
- Research Center for Convergence Toxicology, Korea Institute of Toxicology, 141 Gajeong-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34114, Korea;
- Correspondence: (I.S.R.); (E.S.C.); Tel.: +82-42-610-8293 (I.S.R.); +82-51-510-2272 (E.S.C.)
| | - Jieun Kim
- Department of Biological Sciences, Pusan National University, 63-2 Busandaehak-ro, Geumjeong-gu, Busan 46241, Korea; (J.K.); (J.H.Y.); (S.Y.S.); (S.S.); (S.K.)
| | - Ju Hwan Yang
- Department of Biological Sciences, Pusan National University, 63-2 Busandaehak-ro, Geumjeong-gu, Busan 46241, Korea; (J.K.); (J.H.Y.); (S.Y.S.); (S.S.); (S.K.)
| | - Su Yeon Seo
- Department of Biological Sciences, Pusan National University, 63-2 Busandaehak-ro, Geumjeong-gu, Busan 46241, Korea; (J.K.); (J.H.Y.); (S.Y.S.); (S.S.); (S.K.)
- Korean Medicine Fundamental Research Division, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, 1672 Yuseong-daero, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34054, Korea
| | - Sumin Sohn
- Department of Biological Sciences, Pusan National University, 63-2 Busandaehak-ro, Geumjeong-gu, Busan 46241, Korea; (J.K.); (J.H.Y.); (S.Y.S.); (S.S.); (S.K.)
| | - Sunghyun Kim
- Department of Biological Sciences, Pusan National University, 63-2 Busandaehak-ro, Geumjeong-gu, Busan 46241, Korea; (J.K.); (J.H.Y.); (S.Y.S.); (S.S.); (S.K.)
| | - Kyuhong Lee
- Inhalation Toxicology Research Center, Korea Institute of Toxicology, 30 Baekhak 1-gil, Jeongeup 56212, Korea;
| | - Joung-Wook Seo
- Research Center for Convergence Toxicology, Korea Institute of Toxicology, 141 Gajeong-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34114, Korea;
| | - Eun Sang Choe
- Department of Biological Sciences, Pusan National University, 63-2 Busandaehak-ro, Geumjeong-gu, Busan 46241, Korea; (J.K.); (J.H.Y.); (S.Y.S.); (S.S.); (S.K.)
- Correspondence: (I.S.R.); (E.S.C.); Tel.: +82-42-610-8293 (I.S.R.); +82-51-510-2272 (E.S.C.)
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Zelli S, Brancato A, Mattioli F, Pepe M, Alleva E, Carbone C, Cannizzaro C, Adriani W. A new "sudden fright paradigm" to explore the role of (epi)genetic modulations of the DAT gene in fear-induced avoidance behavior. GENES BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR 2020; 20:e12709. [PMID: 33070435 DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12709] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2020] [Revised: 10/13/2020] [Accepted: 10/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Alterations in dopamine (DA) reuptake are involved in several psychiatric disorders whose symptoms can be investigated in knock out rats for the DA transporter (DAT-KO). Recent studies evidenced the role of epigenetic DAT modulation in depressive-like behavior. Accordingly, we used heterozygous (HET) rats born from both HET parents (termed MIX-HET), compared to HET rats born from WT-mother and KO-father (MAT-HET), implementing the role of maternal care on DAT modulation. We developed a "sudden fright" paradigm (based on dark-light test) to study reaction to fearful inputs in the DAT-KO, MAT-HET, MIX-HET, and WT groups. Rats could freely explore the whole 3-chambers apparatus; then, they were gently confined in one room where they experienced the fright; finally, they could freely move again. As expected, after the fearful stimulus only MAT-HET rats showed a different behavior consisting of avoidance towards the fear-associated chamber, compared to WT rats. Furthermore, ex-vivo immuno-fluorescence reveals higher prefrontal DAT levels in MAT-HET compared to MIX-HET and WT rats. Immuno-fluorescence shows also a different histone deacetylase (HDAC) enzymes concentration. Since HDAC concentration could modulate gene expression, within MAT-HET fore brain, the enhanced expression of DAT could well impair the corticostriatal-thalamic circuit, thus causing aberrant avoidance behavior (observed only in MAT-HET rats). DAT expression seems to be linked to a simply different breeding condition, which points to a reduced care by HET dams for epigenetic regulation. This could imply significant prefronto-cortical influences onto the emotional processes: hence an excessively frightful response, even to mild stressful agents, may draw developmental trajectories toward anxious and depressed-like behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Zelli
- Center Behavioral Sciences and Mental Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.,Faculty of Psychology, Università Telematica Internazionale "Uninettuno", Rome, Italy
| | - Anna Brancato
- Department of Sciences for Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties "G. D'Alessandro," University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Francesca Mattioli
- Faculty of Psychology, Università Telematica Internazionale "Uninettuno", Rome, Italy
| | - Martina Pepe
- Center Behavioral Sciences and Mental Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Enrico Alleva
- Center Behavioral Sciences and Mental Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Cristiana Carbone
- Center Behavioral Sciences and Mental Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Carla Cannizzaro
- Department of Sciences for Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties "G. D'Alessandro," University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Walter Adriani
- Center Behavioral Sciences and Mental Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.,Faculty of Psychology, Università Telematica Internazionale "Uninettuno", Rome, Italy
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Brancato A, Castelli V, Lavanco G, Cannizzaro C. Environmental Enrichment During Adolescence Mitigates Cognitive Deficits and Alcohol Vulnerability due to Continuous and Intermittent Perinatal Alcohol Exposure in Adult Rats. Front Behav Neurosci 2020; 14:583122. [PMID: 33100982 PMCID: PMC7546794 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2020.583122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2020] [Accepted: 08/25/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Perinatal alcohol exposure affects ontogenic neurodevelopment, causing physical and functional long-term abnormalities with limited treatment options. This study investigated long-term consequences of continuous and intermittent maternal alcohol drinking on behavioral readouts of cognitive function and alcohol vulnerability in the offspring. The effects of environmental enrichment (EE) during adolescence were also evaluated. Female rats underwent continuous alcohol drinking (CAD)—or intermittent alcohol drinking paradigm (IAD), along pregestation, gestation, and lactation periods—equivalent to the whole gestational period in humans. Male offspring were reared in standard conditions or EE until adulthood and were then assessed for declarative memory in the novel object recognition test; spatial learning, cognitive flexibility, and reference memory in the Morris water maze (MWM); alcohol consumption and relapse by a two-bottle choice paradigm. Our data show that perinatal CAD decreased locomotor activity, exploratory behavior, and declarative memory with respect to controls, whereas perinatal IAD displayed impaired declarative memory and spatial learning and memory. Moreover, both perinatal alcohol-exposed offspring showed higher vulnerability to alcohol consummatory behavior than controls, albeit perinatal IAD rats showed a greater alcohol consumption and relapse behavior with respect to perinatal-CAD progeny. EE ameliorated declarative memory in perinatal CAD, while it mitigated spatial learning and reference memory impairment in perinatal-IAD progeny. In addition, EE decreased vulnerability to alcohol in both control and perinatal alcohol-exposed rats. Maternal alcohol consumption produces drinking pattern-related long-term consequences on cognition and vulnerability to alcohol in the offspring. However, increased positive environmental stimuli during adolescence may curtail the detrimental effects of developmental alcohol exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Brancato
- Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties of Excellence "G. D'Alessandro", University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Valentina Castelli
- Department of Biomedicine, Neuroscience and Advanced Diagnostics, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Gianluca Lavanco
- INSERM U1215, NeuroCentre Magendie, Bordeaux, France.,University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France.,Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Section of Pharmacology, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
| | - Carla Cannizzaro
- Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties of Excellence "G. D'Alessandro", University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
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Piccoli T, Maniaci G, Collura G, Gagliardo C, Brancato A, La Tona G, Gangitano M, La Cascia C, Picone F, Marrale M, Cannizzaro C. Increased functional connectivity in gambling disorder correlates with behavioural and emotional dysregulation: Evidence of a role for the cerebellum. Behav Brain Res 2020; 390:112668. [PMID: 32434751 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2020.112668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2020] [Revised: 04/09/2020] [Accepted: 04/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Gambling disorder (GD) is a psychiatric disease that has been recently classified as a behavioural addiction. So far, a very few studies have investigated the alteration of functional connectivity in GD patients, thus the concrete interplay between relevant function-dependent circuitries in such disease has not been comprehensively assessed. The aim of this research was to investigate resting-state functional connectivity in GD patients, searching for a correlation with GD symptoms severity. GD patients were assessed for gambling behaviour, impulsivity, cognitive distortions, anxiety and depression, in comparison with healthy controls (HC). Afterwards, they were assessed for resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging; functional connectivity was assessed through a data-driven approach, by using independent component analysis. The correlation between gambling severity and the strength of specific resting-state networks was also investigated. Our results show that GD patients displayed higher emotional and behavioural impairment than HC, together with an increased resting state functional connectivity in the network including anterior cingulate cortex, the caudate nucleus and nucleus accumbens, and within the cerebellum, in comparison with the control group. Moreover, a significant correlation between behavioural parameters and the strength of the resting-state cerebellar network was found. Overall, the functional alterations in brain connectivity involving the cerebellum observed in this study underpin the emotional and behavioural impairment recorded in GD patients. This evidence suggests the employment of novel neuromodulatory therapeutic approaches involving specific and salient targets such as the cerebellum in addictive disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tommaso Piccoli
- Department of Biomedicine, Neuroscience and Advanced Diagnostics - Section of Neurology, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Maniaci
- Department of Biomedicine, Neuroscience and Advanced Diagnostics - Section of Psychiatry, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Giorgio Collura
- Department of Physics and Chemistry - Emilio Segrè, University of Palermo, Palermo, and Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione of Catania, Catania, Italy
| | - Cesare Gagliardo
- Department of Biomedicine, Neuroscience and Advanced Diagnostics - Section of Radiological Sciences, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Anna Brancato
- Department of Health Promotion, Mother-Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties of Excellence "G. D'Alessandro", University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Giuseppe La Tona
- Department of Pathological Addiction, ASP Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Massimo Gangitano
- Department of Biomedicine, Neuroscience and Advanced Diagnostics - Section of Neurology, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Caterina La Cascia
- Department of Biomedicine, Neuroscience and Advanced Diagnostics - Section of Psychiatry, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Francesca Picone
- Department of Pathological Addiction, ASP Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Maurizio Marrale
- Department of Physics and Chemistry - Emilio Segrè, University of Palermo, Palermo, and Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione of Catania, Catania, Italy.
| | - Carla Cannizzaro
- Department of Health Promotion, Mother-Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties of Excellence "G. D'Alessandro", University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
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Brancato A, Castelli V, Lavanco G, Marino RAM, Cannizzaro C. In utero Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol exposure confers vulnerability towards cognitive impairments and alcohol drinking in the adolescent offspring: Is there a role for neuropeptide Y? J Psychopharmacol 2020; 34:663-679. [PMID: 32338122 DOI: 10.1177/0269881120916135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cannabinoid consumption during pregnancy has been increasing on the wave of the broad-based legalisation of cannabis in Western countries, raising concern about the putative detrimental outcomes on foetal neurodevelopment. Indeed, since the endocannabinoid system regulates synaptic plasticity, emotional and cognitive processes from early stages of life interfering with it and other excitability endogenous modulators, such as neuropeptide Y (NPY), might contribute to the occurrence of a vulnerable phenotype later in life. AIMS This research investigated whether in utero exposure to Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) may induce deficits in emotional/cognitive processes and alcohol vulnerability in adolescent offspring. NPY and excitatory postsynaptic density (PSD) machinery were measured as markers of neurobiological vulnerability. METHODS Following in utero THC exposure (2 mg/kg delivered subcutaneously), preadolescent male rat offspring were assessed for: behavioural reactivity in the open field test, neutral declarative memory and aversive limbic memory in the Novel Object and Emotional Object Recognition tests, immunofluorescence for NPY neurons and the PSD proteins Homer-1, 1b/c and 2 in the prefrontal cortex, amygdala and nucleus accumbens at adolescence (cohort 1); and instrumental learning, alcohol taking, relapse and conflict behaviour in the operant chamber throughout adolescence until early adulthood (cohort 2). RESULTS In utero THC-exposed adolescent rats showed: (a) increased locomotor activity; (b) no alteration in neutral declarative memory; (c) impaired aversive limbic memory; (d) decreased NPY-positive neurons in limbic regions; (e) region-specific variations in Homer-1, 1b/c and 2 immunoreactivity; (f) decreased instrumental learning and increased alcohol drinking, relapse and conflict behaviour in the operant chamber. CONCLUSION Gestational THC impaired the formation of memory traces when integration between environmental encoding and emotional/motivational processing was required and promoted the development of alcohol-addictive behaviours. The abnormalities in NPY signalling and PSD make-up may represent the common neurobiological background, suggesting new targets for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Brancato
- Department of Health Promotion, Mother-Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties of Excellence 'G. D'Alessandro', University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Valentina Castelli
- Department of Health Promotion, Mother-Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties of Excellence 'G. D'Alessandro', University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy.,Department of Biomedicine, Neuroscience and Advanced Diagnostics, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Gianluca Lavanco
- INSERM U1215, NeuroCentre Magendie, Bordeaux, France.,University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France.,Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Section of Pharmacology, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
| | - Rosa Anna Maria Marino
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore, USA
| | - Carla Cannizzaro
- Department of Health Promotion, Mother-Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties of Excellence 'G. D'Alessandro', University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
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Castelli V, Lavanco G, Brancato A, Plescia F. Targeting the Stress System During Gestation: Is Early Handling a Protective Strategy for the Offspring? Front Behav Neurosci 2020; 14:9. [PMID: 32082129 PMCID: PMC7006220 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2020.00009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2019] [Accepted: 01/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
The perinatal window is a critical developmental time when abnormal gestational stimuli may alter the development of the stress system that, in turn, influences behavioral and physiological responses in the newborns. Individual differences in stress reactivity are also determined by variations in maternal care, resulting from environmental manipulations. Despite glucocorticoids are the primary programming factor for the offspring's stress response, therapeutic corticosteroids are commonly used during late gestation to prevent preterm negative outcomes, exposing the offspring to potentially aberrant stress reactivity later in life. Thus, in this study, we investigated the consequences of one daily s.c. injection of corticosterone (25 mg/kg), from gestational day (GD) 14-16, and its interaction with offspring early handling, consisting in a brief 15-min maternal separation until weaning, on: (i) maternal behavior; and (ii) behavioral reactivity, emotional state and depressive-like behavior in the adolescent offspring. Corticosterone plasma levels, under non-shock- and shock-induced conditions, were also assessed. Our results show that gestational exposure to corticosterone was associated with diminished maternal care, impaired behavioral reactivity, increased emotional state and depressive-like behavior in the offspring, associated with an aberrant corticosterone response. The early handling procedure, which resulted in increased maternal care, was able to counteract the detrimental effects induced by gestational corticosterone exposure both in the behavioral- and neurochemical parameters examined. These findings highlight the potentially detrimental consequences of targeting the stress system during pregnancy as a vulnerability factor for the occurrence of emotional and affective distress in the adolescent offspring. Maternal extra-care proves to be a protective strategy that confers resiliency and restores homeostasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Castelli
- Department of Biomedicine, Neuroscience and Advanced Diagnostics, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Gianluca Lavanco
- INSERM U1215, Neuro Centre Magendie, Bordeaux, France.,University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France.,Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Section of Pharmacology, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
| | - Anna Brancato
- Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties "Giuseppe D'Alessandro", University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Fulvio Plescia
- Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties "Giuseppe D'Alessandro", University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
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11
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Brancato A, Cannizzaro C. Mothering under the influence: how perinatal drugs of abuse alter the mother-infant interaction. Rev Neurosci 2018; 29:283-294. [PMID: 29194045 DOI: 10.1515/revneuro-2017-0052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2017] [Accepted: 09/16/2017] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Although drug-abusing women try to moderate their drug and alcohol use during pregnancy, they often relapse at a time when childcare needs are high and maternal bonding is critical to an infant's development. In the clinical setting, the search for the neural basis of drug-induced caregiving deficits is complex due to several intervening variables. Rather, the preclinical studies that control for drug dose and regimen, as well as for gestational and postpartum environment, allow a precise determination of the effects of drugs on maternal behaviour. Given the relevance of the issue, this review will gather reports on the phenotypic correlates of maternal behaviour in preclinical studies, and focus on the detrimental consequences on the mother-infant interaction exerted by the perinatal use of alcohol, nicotine, cannabis, cocaine and stimulants and opiates. The drug-induced disruptions of this maternal repertoire are associated with adverse maternal and infant outcomes. A comprehensive overview will help promote the refinement of the treatment approaches toward maternal drug use disorders and maternal misbehaviour, in favour of augmented parenting resiliency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Brancato
- Department of Sciences for Health Promotion and Mother and Child Care 'G. D'Alessandro', University of Palermo, via del Vespro 129, I-90127 Palermo, Italy
| | - Carla Cannizzaro
- Department of Sciences for Health Promotion and Mother and Child Care 'G. D'Alessandro', University of Palermo, via del Vespro 129, I-90127 Palermo, Italy
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12
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Lavanco G, Castelli V, Brancato A, Tringali G, Plescia F, Cannizzaro C. The endocannabinoid-alcohol crosstalk: Recent advances on a bi-faceted target. Clin Exp Pharmacol Physiol 2018; 45:889-896. [PMID: 29770478 DOI: 10.1111/1440-1681.12967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2018] [Revised: 05/04/2018] [Accepted: 05/07/2018] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Increasing evidence has focusesed on the endocannabinoid system as a relevant player in the induction of aberrant synaptic plasticity and related addictive phenotype following chronic excessive alcohol drinking. In addition, the endocannabinoid system is implicated in the pathogenesis of alcoholic liver disease. Interestingly, whereas the involvement of CB1 receptors in alcohol rewarding properties is established, the central and peripheral action of CB2 signalling is still to be elucidated. This review aims at giving the input to deepen knowledge on the role of the endocannabinoid system, highlighting the advancing evidence that suggests that CB1 and CB2 receptors may play opposite roles in the regulation of both the reinforcing properties of alcohol in the brain and the mechanisms responsible for cell injury and inflammation in the hepatic tissue. The manipulation of the endocannabinoid system could represent a bi-faceted strategy to counteract alcohol-related dysfunction in central transmission and liver structural and functional disarrangement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gianluca Lavanco
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
| | - Valentina Castelli
- Department of Sciences for Health Promotion and Mother and Child Care "Giuseppe D'Alessandro", University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Anna Brancato
- Department of Sciences for Health Promotion and Mother and Child Care "Giuseppe D'Alessandro", University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Tringali
- Institute of Pharmacology, Catholic University School of Medicine, Rome, Italy
| | - Fulvio Plescia
- Department of Sciences for Health Promotion and Mother and Child Care "Giuseppe D'Alessandro", University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Carla Cannizzaro
- Department of Sciences for Health Promotion and Mother and Child Care "Giuseppe D'Alessandro", University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
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13
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Ryu IS, Kim J, Seo SY, Yang JH, Oh JH, Lee DK, Cho HW, Lee K, Yoon SS, Seo JW, Shim I, Choe ES. Repeated Administration of Cigarette Smoke Condensate Increases Glutamate Levels and Behavioral Sensitization. Front Behav Neurosci 2018; 12:47. [PMID: 29615877 PMCID: PMC5864865 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2017] [Accepted: 02/28/2018] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Nicotine, a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonist, produces the reinforcing effects of tobacco dependence by potentiating dopaminergic and glutamatergic neurotransmission. Non-nicotine alkaloids in tobacco also contribute to dependence by activating the cholinergic system. However, glutamatergic neurotransmission in the dorsal striatum associated with behavioral changes in response to cigarette smoking has not been investigated. In this study, the authors investigated alterations in glutamate levels in the rat dorsal striatum related to behavioral alterations after repeated administration of cigarette smoke condensate (CSC) using the real-time glutamate biosensing and an open-field behavioral assessment. Repeated administration of CSC including 0.4 mg nicotine (1.0 mL/kg/day, subcutaneous) for 14 days significantly increased extracellular glutamate concentrations more than repeated nicotine administration. In parallel with the hyperactivation of glutamate levels, repeated administration of CSC-evoked prolonged hypersensitization of psychomotor activity, including locomotor and rearing activities. These findings suggest that the CSC-induced psychomotor activities are closely associated with the elevation of glutamate concentrations in the rat dorsal striatum.
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Affiliation(s)
- In Soo Ryu
- Department of Biological Sciences, Pusan National University, Busan, South Korea.,Research Center for Safety Pharmacology, Korea Institute of Toxicology, Daejeon, South Korea
| | - Jieun Kim
- Department of Biological Sciences, Pusan National University, Busan, South Korea
| | - Su Yeon Seo
- Department of Biological Sciences, Pusan National University, Busan, South Korea.,Fundamental Research Division, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, Daejeon, South Korea
| | - Ju Hwan Yang
- Department of Biological Sciences, Pusan National University, Busan, South Korea
| | - Jeong Hwan Oh
- College of Fisheries Sciences, National Institute of Fisheries (NIFS), Busan, South Korea
| | - Dong Kun Lee
- Department of Physiology, Institute of Health Sciences, Gyeongsang National University School of Medicine, Jinju, South Korea
| | - Hyun-Wook Cho
- Department of Biology, Sunchon National University, Sunchon, South Korea
| | - Kyuhong Lee
- Inhalation Toxicology Research Center, Korea Institute of Toxicology, Jeongeup, South Korea
| | - Seong Shoon Yoon
- Research Center for Safety Pharmacology, Korea Institute of Toxicology, Daejeon, South Korea
| | - Joung-Wook Seo
- Research Center for Safety Pharmacology, Korea Institute of Toxicology, Daejeon, South Korea
| | - Insop Shim
- Department of Science in Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Eun Sang Choe
- Department of Biological Sciences, Pusan National University, Busan, South Korea
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14
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Brancato A, Cavallaro A, Lavanco G, Plescia F, Cannizzaro C. Reward-related limbic memory and stimulation of the cannabinoid system: An upgrade in value attribution? J Psychopharmacol 2018; 32:204-214. [PMID: 28880120 DOI: 10.1177/0269881117725683] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
While a lot is known about the mechanisms promoting aversive learning, the impact of rewarding factors on memory has received comparatively less attention. This research investigates reward-related explicit memory in male rats, by taking advantage of the emotional-object recognition test. This is based on the prior association, during conditioned learning, between a rewarding experience (the encounter with a receptive female rat) and an object; afterwards rat discrimination and recognition of the 'emotional object' is recorded in the presence of a novel object, as a measure of positive limbic memory formation. Since endocannabinoids are critical for processing reward and motivation, the consequences of the stimulation of cannabinoid signalling are also assessed by the administration of WIN 55,212-2 at pre- and post-conditioning time. Our results show that rats encode the association between object and rewarding experience, form positive limbic memory of the emotional object, and retrieve this information in the face of novelty. Stimulation of the cannabinoid system at pre-conditioning time is able to strengthen reward-related explicit memory in the presence of novelty, whereas post-conditioning activation increases approach behaviour to novel stimuli. The assessment of limbic memory by the emotional-object recognition test can help unveiling the addictive and confounding properties of psychotropic drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Brancato
- Department of Sciences for Health Promotion and Mother and Child Care 'G. D'Alessandro', University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Angela Cavallaro
- Department of Sciences for Health Promotion and Mother and Child Care 'G. D'Alessandro', University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Gianluca Lavanco
- Department of Sciences for Health Promotion and Mother and Child Care 'G. D'Alessandro', University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Fulvio Plescia
- Department of Sciences for Health Promotion and Mother and Child Care 'G. D'Alessandro', University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Carla Cannizzaro
- Department of Sciences for Health Promotion and Mother and Child Care 'G. D'Alessandro', University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
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15
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Brancato A, Castelli V, Cavallaro A, Lavanco G, Plescia F, Cannizzaro C. Pre-conceptional and Peri-Gestational Maternal Binge Alcohol Drinking Produces Inheritance of Mood Disturbances and Alcohol Vulnerability in the Adolescent Offspring. Front Psychiatry 2018; 9:150. [PMID: 29743872 PMCID: PMC5930268 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2018] [Accepted: 04/04/2018] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Although binge drinking is on the rise in women of reproductive age and during pregnancy, the consequences in the offspring, in particular the inheritance of alcohol-related mood disturbances and alcohol abuse vulnerability, are still poorly investigated. In this study, we modeled both Habitual- and Binge Alcohol Drinking (HAD and BAD) in female rats by employing a two-bottle choice paradigm, with 20% alcohol and water. The exposure started 12 weeks before pregnancy and continued during gestation and lactation. The consequences induced by the two alcohol drinking patterns in female rats were assessed before conception in terms of behavioral reactivity, anxiety- and depressive-like behavior. Afterwards, from adolescence to young-adulthood, male offspring was assessed for behavioral phenotype and alcohol abuse vulnerability. At pre-conceptional time BAD female rats showed higher mean alcohol intake and preference than HAD group; differences in drinking trajectories were attenuated during pregnancy and lactation. Pre-conceptional BAD induced a prevalent depressive/anhedonic-like behavior in female rats, rather than an increase in anxiety-like behavior, as observed in HAD rats. In the adolescent offspring, peri-gestational BAD did not affect behavioral reactivity in the open field and anxiety-like behavior in the elevated plus maze. Rather, BAD dams offspring displayed higher despair-behavior and lower social interaction with respect to control- and HAD dams progeny. Notably, only binge drinking exposure increased offspring vulnerability to alcohol abuse and relapse following forced abstinence. This is the first report showing that binge-like alcohol consumption from pre-conceptional until weaning induces relevant consequences in the affective phenotype of both the mothers and the offspring, and that such effects include heightened alcohol abuse vulnerability in the offspring. These findings highlight the need for more incisive public education campaigns about detrimental consequences of peri-gestational alcohol exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Brancato
- Department of Sciences for Health Promotion and Mother and Child Care "Giuseppe D'Alessandro", University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Valentina Castelli
- Department of Sciences for Health Promotion and Mother and Child Care "Giuseppe D'Alessandro", University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Angela Cavallaro
- Department of Sciences for Health Promotion and Mother and Child Care "Giuseppe D'Alessandro", University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Gianluca Lavanco
- Department of Sciences for Health Promotion and Mother and Child Care "Giuseppe D'Alessandro", University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Fulvio Plescia
- Department of Sciences for Health Promotion and Mother and Child Care "Giuseppe D'Alessandro", University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Carla Cannizzaro
- Department of Sciences for Health Promotion and Mother and Child Care "Giuseppe D'Alessandro", University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
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16
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Maniaci G, Goudriaan AE, Cannizzaro C, van Holst RJ. Impulsivity and Stress Response in Pathological Gamblers During the Trier Social Stress Test. J Gambl Stud 2017; 34:147-160. [PMID: 28316029 PMCID: PMC5846820 DOI: 10.1007/s10899-017-9685-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Gambling has been associated with increased sympathetic nervous system output and stimulation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis. However it is unclear how these systems are affected in pathological gambling. This study aimed to investigate the effect of the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) on cortisol and on cardiac interbeat intervals in relation to impulsivity, in a sample of male pathological gamblers compared to healthy controls. In addition, we investigated the correlation between the TSST, duration of the disorder and impulsivity. A total of 35 pathological gamblers and 30 healthy controls, ranging from 19 to 58 years old and all male, participated in this study. Stress response was measured during and after the TSST by salivary cortisol and cardiac interbeat intervals; impulsivity was assessed with the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11). Exposure to the TSST produced a significant increase in salivary cortisol and interbeat intervals in both groups, without differences between groups. We found a negative correlation between baseline cortisol and duration of pathological gambling indicating that the longer the duration of the disorder the lower the baseline cortisol levels. Additionally, we found a main effect of impulsivity across groups on interbeat interval during the TSST, indicating an association between impulsivity and the intensity of the neurovegetative stress response during the TSST. Involvement of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis in pathological gambling was confirmed together with evidence of a correlation between length of the disorder and diminished baseline cortisol levels. Impulsivity emerged as a personality trait expressed by pathological gamblers; however the neurovegetative response to the TSST, although associated with impulsivity, appeared to be independent of the presence of pathological gambling.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Maniaci
- Department of Experimental Biomedicine and Clinical Neurosciences, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy.,Academic Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam Institute for Addiction Research, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - A E Goudriaan
- Academic Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam Institute for Addiction Research, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Arkin Mental Health Care, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - C Cannizzaro
- Department of Sciences for Health Promotion and Mother and Child Care "Giuseppe D'Alessandro", University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - R J van Holst
- Academic Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam Institute for Addiction Research, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
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17
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Brancato A, Lavanco G, Cavallaro A, Plescia F, Cannizzaro C. Acetaldehyde, Motivation and Stress: Behavioral Evidence of an Addictive ménage à trois. Front Behav Neurosci 2017; 11:23. [PMID: 28232795 PMCID: PMC5299001 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2017.00023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2016] [Accepted: 01/27/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Acetaldehyde (ACD) contributes to alcohol's psychoactive effects through its own rewarding properties. Recent studies shed light on the behavioral correlates of ACD administration and the possible interactions with key neurotransmitters for motivation, reward and stress-related response, such as dopamine and endocannabinoids. This mini review article critically examines ACD psychoactive properties, focusing on behavioral investigations able to unveil ACD motivational effects and their pharmacological modulation in vivo. Similarly to alcohol, rats spontaneously drink ACD, whose presence is detected in the brain following chronic self-administration paradigm. ACD motivational properties are demonstrated by operant paradigms tailored to model several drug-related behaviors, such as induction and maintenance of operant self-administration, extinction, relapse and punishment resistance. ACD-related addictive-like behaviors are sensitive to pharmacological manipulations of dopamine and endocannabinoid signaling. Interestingly, the ACD-dopamine-endocannabinoids relationship also contributes to neuroplastic alterations of the NPYergic system, a stress-related peptide critically involved in alcohol abuse. The understanding of the ménage-a-trois among ACD, reward- and stress-related circuits holds promising potential for the development of novel pharmacological approaches aimed at reducing alcohol abuse.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Brancato
- Department of Sciences for Health Promotion and Mother and Child Care "G. D'Alessandro", University of Palermo Palermo, Italy
| | - Gianluca Lavanco
- Department of Sciences for Health Promotion and Mother and Child Care "G. D'Alessandro", University of Palermo Palermo, Italy
| | - Angela Cavallaro
- Department of Sciences for Health Promotion and Mother and Child Care "G. D'Alessandro", University of Palermo Palermo, Italy
| | - Fulvio Plescia
- Department of Sciences for Health Promotion and Mother and Child Care "G. D'Alessandro", University of Palermo Palermo, Italy
| | - Carla Cannizzaro
- Department of Sciences for Health Promotion and Mother and Child Care "G. D'Alessandro", University of Palermo Palermo, Italy
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18
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Castelli V, Brancato A, Cavallaro A, Lavanco G, Cannizzaro C. Homer2 and Alcohol: A Mutual Interaction. Front Psychiatry 2017; 8:268. [PMID: 29249995 PMCID: PMC5714871 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2017.00268] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2017] [Accepted: 11/17/2017] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The past two decades of data derived from addicted individuals and preclinical animal models of addiction implicate a role for the excitatory glutamatergic transmission within the mesolimbic structures in alcoholism. The cellular localization of the glutamatergic receptor subtypes, as well as their signaling efficiency and function, are highly dependent upon discrete functional constituents of the postsynaptic density, including the Homer family of scaffolding proteins. The consequences of repeated alcohol administration on the expression of the Homer family proteins demonstrate a crucial and active role, particularly for the expression of Homer2 isoform, in regulating alcohol-induced behavioral and cellular neuroplasticity. The interaction between Homer2 and alcohol can be defined as a mutual relation: alcohol consumption enhances the expression of Homer2 protein isoform within the nucleus accumbens and the extended amygdala, cerebral areas where, in turn, Homer2 is able to mediate the development of the "pro-alcoholic" behavioral phenotype, as a consequence of the morpho-functional synaptic adaptations. Such findings are relevant for the detection of the strategic molecular components that prompt alcohol-induced functional and behavioral disarrangement as targets for future innovative treatment options.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Castelli
- Department of Sciences for Health Promotion and Mother and Child Care "G. D'Alessandro", University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Anna Brancato
- Department of Sciences for Health Promotion and Mother and Child Care "G. D'Alessandro", University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Angela Cavallaro
- Department of Sciences for Health Promotion and Mother and Child Care "G. D'Alessandro", University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Gianluca Lavanco
- Department of Sciences for Health Promotion and Mother and Child Care "G. D'Alessandro", University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Carla Cannizzaro
- Department of Sciences for Health Promotion and Mother and Child Care "G. D'Alessandro", University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
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19
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Effects of DA-Phen, a dopamine-aminoacidic conjugate, on alcohol intake and forced abstinence. Behav Brain Res 2016; 310:109-18. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2016.05.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2016] [Revised: 04/29/2016] [Accepted: 05/02/2016] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
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20
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Acetaldehyde self-administration by a two-bottle choice paradigm: consequences on emotional reactivity, spatial learning, and memory. Alcohol 2015; 49:139-48. [PMID: 25636827 DOI: 10.1016/j.alcohol.2015.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Acetaldehyde, the first alcohol metabolite, is responsible for many pharmacological effects that are not clearly distinguishable from those exerted by its parent compound. It alters motor performance, induces reinforced learning and motivated behavior, and produces different reactions according to the route of administration and the relative accumulation in the brain or in the periphery. The effective activity of oral acetaldehyde represents an unresolved field of inquiry that deserves further investigation. Thus, this study explores the acquisition and maintenance of acetaldehyde drinking behavior in adult male rats, employing a two-bottle choice paradigm for water and acetaldehyde solution (from 0.9% to 3.2% v/v), over 8 weeks. The behavioral consequences exerted by chronic acetaldehyde intake are assessed by a set of different tests: trials in an open-field arena and elevated-plus maze provided information on both general motor and explorative activity, and anxiety-driven behavioral responses. The Morris water maze allowed the exploration of cognitive processes such as spatial learning and memory. Determination of acetaldehyde levels in the brain was carried out at the end of the drinking paradigm. Our results indicate that rats exposed for the first time to acetaldehyde at 0.9% displayed a regular and stable daily drinking pattern that reached higher values and a "peaks and drops" shaped-trend when acetaldehyde concentration was increased to 3.2%. Accordingly, an increase in acetaldehyde levels in the brain was determined compared to non-acetaldehyde drinking rats. Acetaldehyde intake during the free-choice paradigm exerted an anxiogenic response in the open-field arena and elevated-plus maze, which in turn correlates with an enhancement in cognitive flexibility and spatial orientation skills, when an adaptive response to a stressful environmental challenge was required. These findings further support the idea that acetaldehyde is indeed a centrally active and behaviorally relevant metabolite of alcohol.
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21
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Plescia F, Brancato A, Marino RAM, Vita C, Navarra M, Cannizzaro C. Effect of Acetaldehyde Intoxication and Withdrawal on NPY Expression: Focus on Endocannabinoidergic System Involvement. Front Psychiatry 2014; 5:138. [PMID: 25324788 PMCID: PMC4181239 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2014.00138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2014] [Accepted: 09/18/2014] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Acetaldehyde (ACD), the first alcohol metabolite, plays a pivotal role in the rewarding, motivational, and addictive properties of the parental compound. Many studies have investigated the role of ACD in mediating neurochemical and behavioral effects induced by alcohol administration, but very little is known about the modulation of neuropeptide systems following ACD intoxication and withdrawal. Indeed, the neuropeptide Y (NPY) system is altered during alcohol withdrawal in key regions for cerebrocortical excitability and neuroplasticity. The primary goal of this research was to investigate the effects of ACD intoxication and withdrawal by recording rat behavior and by measuring NPY immunoreactivity in hippocampus and NAcc, two brain regions mainly involved in processes which encompass neuroplasticity in alcohol dependence. Furthermore, on the basis of the involvement of endocannabinoidergic system in alcohol and ACD reinforcing effects, the role of the selective CB1 receptor antagonist AM281 in modulating NPY expression during withdrawal was assessed. Our results indicate that (i) ACD intoxication induced a reduction in NPY expression in hippocampus and NAcc; (ii) symptoms of physical dependence, similar to alcohol's, were scored at 12 h from the last administration of ACD; and (iii) NPY levels increased in early and prolonged acute withdrawal in both brain regions examined. The administration of AM281 was able to blunt signs of ACD-induced physical dependence, to modulate NPY levels, and to further increase NPY expression during ACD withdrawal both in hippocampus and NAcc. In conclusion, the present study shows that complex plastic changes take place in NPY system during ACD intoxication and subsequent withdrawal in rat hippocampal formation and NAcc. The pharmacological inhibition of CB1 signaling could counteract the neurochemical imbalance associated with ACD, and alcohol withdrawal, likely boosting the setting up of homeostatic functional recovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fulvio Plescia
- Department of Sciences for Health Promotion and Mother and Child Care "Giuseppe D'Alessandro", University of Palermo , Palermo , Italy
| | - Anna Brancato
- Department of Sciences for Health Promotion and Mother and Child Care "Giuseppe D'Alessandro", University of Palermo , Palermo , Italy
| | - Rosa Anna Maria Marino
- Department of Sciences for Health Promotion and Mother and Child Care "Giuseppe D'Alessandro", University of Palermo , Palermo , Italy
| | - Carlotta Vita
- Department of Sciences for Health Promotion and Mother and Child Care "Giuseppe D'Alessandro", University of Palermo , Palermo , Italy
| | - Michele Navarra
- Department of Drug Sciences and Products for Health, University of Messina , Messina , Italy
| | - Carla Cannizzaro
- Department of Sciences for Health Promotion and Mother and Child Care "Giuseppe D'Alessandro", University of Palermo , Palermo , Italy
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