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Milivojevic V, Sinha R. Laboratory and Real-World Experimental Approaches to Understanding Alcohol Relapse. Curr Top Behav Neurosci 2023. [PMID: 37985542 DOI: 10.1007/7854_2023_456] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2023]
Abstract
Alcohol use disorder is highly prevalent and high risk of relapse remains a significant treatment challenge. Therefore, the utility of human laboratory models of relapse to further the understanding of psychobiological mechanisms that precipitate relapse risk and allow testing of novel interventions could be of benefit in expediting the development of effective treatments to target high relapse risk. Stress is a risk factor for the development of AUD and for relapse, and furthermore, chronic alcohol use leads to adaptations in central and peripheral stress biology. Here, we review our efforts to assess the integrity of these stress pathways in individuals with alcohol use disorder and whether adaptations in these systems play a role in relapse risk. Using validated human laboratory procedures to model two of the most common situations that contribute to relapse risk, namely stress and alcohol cues, we review how such models in the laboratory can predict subsequent relapse, and how we can measure specific identified biobehavioral markers of relapse effectively and ecologically in the real world. Finally, we discuss the significant implications of these findings for the development of novel and effective interventions that target stress dysregulation and craving as risk factors to treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Verica Milivojevic
- Department of Psychiatry, The Yale Stress Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Rajita Sinha
- Department of Psychiatry, The Yale Stress Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
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2
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Blaine S, Fogelman N, Lacadie C, Constable T, Sinha R. Blunted neural reward response to alcohol and greater alcohol motivation in binge drinkers in a randomized clinical experiment. ALCOHOL, CLINICAL & EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH 2023; 47:1067-1078. [PMID: 37070596 PMCID: PMC10289130 DOI: 10.1111/acer.15082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2022] [Revised: 04/04/2023] [Accepted: 04/07/2023] [Indexed: 04/19/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Alcohol stimulates cerebral blood flow (CBF) in brain reward regions. However, neural processes that support sustained alcohol motivation after the first drink are not well understood. METHODS Using a novel placebo-controlled, randomized, crossover experiment, 27 individuals who binge drink (BD; 15 M, 12 F) and 25 social drinkers (SD; 15 M, 10 F) underwent a behavioral test of self-motivated alcohol consumption using an Alcohol Taste Test (ATT) involving alcoholic and nonalcoholic beer on separate days. The test was followed immediately by perfusion functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). On both days, participants then engaged in a post-scan ATT with placebo beer to assess sustained alcohol self-motivation without active alcohol effects. Linear mixed effects models were used to examine the effects of drinking group on the placebo-controlled effect of initial alcohol motivation on brain perfusion (whole brain corrected p < 0.001, cluster corrected p < 0.025) and on the relationship between placebo-controlled brain perfusion and sustained alcohol motivation. RESULTS Initial alcohol self-motivation in the alcohol relative to placebo session led to markedly decreased activation in the medial orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and the ventral striatum in BD relative to SD, indicative of neural reward tolerance. The BD group also showed an enhanced neural response in behavioral intention regions of the supplementary motor area (SMA) and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) regions. Moreover, there was greater sustained alcohol motivation in BD than SD in the post-scan ATT in the alcohol relative to placebo session. Correspondingly, only in BD and only in the alcohol session, lower alcohol-induced OFC response correlated with concurrent sensitized SMA response, and each predicted the subsequent sustained higher alcohol motivation in the post-scan ATT. CONCLUSIONS Alcohol-related OFC tolerance may play an important role in sustained alcohol motivation. Furthermore, both specific alcohol-related neural reward tolerance and premotor sensitization responses may contribute to escalating alcohol motivation to drive excessive alcohol intake, even in individuals without alcohol use disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Blaine
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Auburn University; Auburn, AL
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine; New Haven, CT
| | - Nia Fogelman
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine; New Haven, CT
| | - Cheryl Lacadie
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale School of Medicine; New Haven, CT
| | - Todd Constable
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale School of Medicine; New Haven, CT
| | - Rajita Sinha
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine; New Haven, CT
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3
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Gurok MG, Tabara MF, Koc M, Saritoy S, Baykara S, Atmaca M. Pituitary Volumes Are Reduced in Patients With Alcohol Use Disorder. Alcohol Alcohol 2023; 58:107-112. [PMID: 36458440 DOI: 10.1093/alcalc/agac062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2022] [Revised: 09/01/2022] [Accepted: 10/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
AIMS To determine whether there is a difference in pituitary gland volumes in patients with alcohol use disorder compared to healthy people. METHODS The subjects included in the study consisted of 15 individuals who met the criteria for alcohol use disorder according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fifth Edition (DSM 5) diagnostic criteria based on the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM 5 and were admitted to Firat University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, or were hospitalized, and 17 healthy controls. The volumes of pituitary were measured in subjects. RESULTS Absolute pituitary gland volumes of patients with alcohol use disorder and healthy controls were compared in the analysis performed using the independent samples t-test. The mean volume of the patient group was significantly smaller than the healthy controls (58.02 ± 7.24 mm3 in patients with alcohol use disorder vs. 83.08 ± 12.11 mm3, P < 0.01), a difference which persisted after controlling for age, gender and total brain size. CONCLUSIONS Patients with alcohol use disorder in this study had smaller pituitary gland volumes compared to those of healthy control subjects. However, this study has limitations including small sample size and not adjusting for previous or current medication use or current anxiety and depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mehmet Gurkan Gurok
- Department of Psychiatry, Firat University School of Medicine, Elazig 23100, Turkey
| | | | - Mustafa Koc
- Department of Radiology, Firat University School of Medicine, Elazig 23100, Turkey
| | - Sumeyra Saritoy
- Department of Radiology, Firat University School of Medicine, Elazig 23100, Turkey
| | - Sema Baykara
- Department of Psychiatry, Firat University School of Medicine, Elazig 23100, Turkey
| | - Murad Atmaca
- Department of Psychiatry, Firat University School of Medicine, Elazig 23100, Turkey
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Milivojevic V, Sullivan L, Tiber J, Fogelman N, Simpson C, Hermes G, Sinha R. Pregnenolone effects on provoked alcohol craving, anxiety, HPA axis, and autonomic arousal in individuals with alcohol use disorder. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2023; 240:101-114. [PMID: 36445398 PMCID: PMC10630889 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-022-06278-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2022] [Accepted: 11/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Chronic alcohol intake down-regulates GABAergic transmission and reduces levels of neuroactive steroids. These changes are associated with greater stress dysregulation and high alcohol craving which in turn increases relapse risk. OBJECTIVES This study tested whether potentiation of the neurosteroid system with pregnenolone (PREG), a precursor to neuroactive steroids and known to increase GABAergic transmission, will normalize chronic alcohol-related stress adaptations in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and autonomic responses and reduce alcohol craving to significantly impact relapse risk. METHODS Forty-three treatment-seeking individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD) were randomized to placebo (PBO) or supraphysiologic pregnenolone doses of 300 mg or 500 mg treatment using a parallel-between subject design as part of a larger 8-week pilot clinical trial. In week 2, they participated in a 3-day laboratory experiment where on each day they self-administered the assigned study drug in the laboratory and were then exposed to 5-min personalized guided imagery provocation of stress, alcohol, or neutral/relaxing cues, one condition per day on separate days, in a random, counterbalanced order. Repeated assessments of alcohol craving, anxiety, HPA axis, heart rate (HR), systolic (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and serum pregnenolone levels were made on each day. RESULTS Pregnenolone levels were significantly increased in the PREG groups versus PBO. PREG treatment decreased stress- and alcohol cue- induced craving and dose-specifically reduced stress-induced anxiety in the 300 mg/day group. Both PREG doses compared to PBO also normalized CORT/ACTH and increased stress-induced HR, stress- and cue-induced SBP, and in the 300 mg PREG group cue-induced DBP responses relative to neutral condition. CONCLUSIONS Findings indicate that pregnenolone decreases stress- and alcohol cue-provoked craving and normalizes HPA axis and autonomic arousal in individuals with AUD, thereby supporting the need for further assessment of pregnenolone in the treatment of AUD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Verica Milivojevic
- The Yale Stress Center, Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06519, USA.
| | - Liam Sullivan
- The Yale Stress Center, Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06519, USA
| | - Jessica Tiber
- The Yale Stress Center, Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06519, USA
| | - Nia Fogelman
- The Yale Stress Center, Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06519, USA
| | - Christine Simpson
- Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Gretchen Hermes
- The Yale Stress Center, Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06519, USA
| | - Rajita Sinha
- The Yale Stress Center, Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06519, USA
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Chronic alcohol disrupts hypothalamic responses to stress by modifying CRF and NMDA receptor function. Neuropharmacology 2020; 167:107991. [PMID: 32059962 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2020.107991] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2019] [Revised: 01/07/2020] [Accepted: 02/05/2020] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
The chronic inability of alcoholics to effectively cope with relapse-inducing stressors has been linked to dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) signaling. However, the cellular mechanisms responsible for this dysregulation are yet to be identified. After exposure of male Sprague Dawley rats to chronic intermittent ethanol (CIE; 5-6 g/kg orally for 35 doses over 50 days) or water, followed by 40-60 days of protracted withdrawal, we investigated CIE effects on glutamatergic synaptic transmission, stress-induced plasticity, CRF- and ethanol-induced NMDAR inhibition using electrophysiological recordings in parvocellular neurosecretory cells (PNCs) of the paraventricular nucleus. We also assessed CIE effects on hypothalamic mRNA expression of CRF-related genes using real-time polymerase chain reaction, and on HPA axis function by measuring stress-induced increases in plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone, corticosterone, and self-grooming. In control rats, ethanol-mediated inhibition of NMDARs was prevented by CRF1 receptor (CRFR1) blockade with antalarmin, while CRF/CRFR1-mediated NMDAR blockade was prevented by intracellularly-applied inhibitor of phosphatases PP1/PP2A, okadaic acid, but not the selective striatal-enriched tyrosine protein phosphatase inhibitor, TC-2153. CIE exposure increased GluN2B subunit-dependent NMDAR function of PNCs. This was associated with the loss of both ethanol- and CRF-mediated NMDAR inhibition, and loss of stress-induced short-term potentiation of glutamatergic synaptic inputs, which could be reversed by intracellular blockade of NMDARs with MK801. CIE exposure also blunted the hormonal and self-grooming behavioral responses to repeated restraint stress. These findings suggest a cellular mechanism whereby chronic alcohol dysregulates the hormonal and behavioral responses to repetitive stressors by increasing NMDAR function and decreasing CRFR1 function.
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Blaine SK, Nautiyal N, Hart R, Guarnaccia J, Sinha R. Craving, cortisol and behavioral alcohol motivation responses to stress and alcohol cue contexts and discrete cues in binge and non-binge drinkers. Addict Biol 2019; 24:1096-1108. [PMID: 30091823 PMCID: PMC6785022 DOI: 10.1111/adb.12665] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2017] [Revised: 06/27/2018] [Accepted: 07/01/2018] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Alcohol use disorders are associated with high craving and disruption of stress biology, but their role in behavioral alcohol motivation is less clear. We examined the effects of craving and cortisol responses on behavioral alcohol motivation to stress, alcohol cue and neutral-relaxing context cues, in addition to discrete alcohol cues, in demographically matched binge/heavy (BH) and moderate (MD) social drinkers. Subjects participated in a 3-day laboratory experiment of provocation by three personalized guided imagery contexts and discrete alcohol cues followed by the 'alcohol taste test' (ATT) to assess behavioral motivation, as measured by ATT intake. Post-ATT alcohol effects on craving and cortisol responses were also examined. Results indicate BH consumed significantly more alcohol than MD in the ATT. Stress and alcohol cue contexts, relative to neutral, led to significantly greater ATT intake across both groups, which also correlated positively with self-reported alcohol use in past 30 days. Stress and alcohol context and discrete alcohol cues each significantly increased alcohol craving, more so in the BH than MD, and significantly predicted greater ATT intake in BH only. The BH showed significantly lower cortisol responses than MD overall and blunted cortisol responses to cues predicted significantly greater ATT intake in the stress condition for BH and in the alcohol cue condition for MD. Higher ATT intake predicted greater cortisol response and higher craving post-ATT, and these effects were moderated by group status. In sum, findings suggest a role for sensitized context-induced craving and blunted cortisol responses in increased behavioral motivation for alcohol.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara K. Blaine
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT USA
| | | | - Rachel Hart
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT USA
| | - J.B. Guarnaccia
- Department of Neurology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT USA
| | - Rajita Sinha
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT USA
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Fleming W, Jones Q, Chandra U, Saini A, Walker D, Francis R, Ocampo G, Kuhn C. Withdrawal from Brief Repeated Alcohol Treatment in Adolescent and Adult Male and Female Rats. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2018; 43:204-211. [PMID: 30566247 DOI: 10.1111/acer.13936] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2018] [Accepted: 11/20/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Early initiation of alcohol drinking has been associated with increased risk of alcohol dependence in adulthood. Although negative affect mediated in part by corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) is a strong motivator for alcohol consumption in adults, comparisons of alcohol withdrawal in adolescents and adults generally have not included CRF-related measures such as anxiety. The purpose of the present study was to compare withdrawal signs including anxiety-like behavior after a brief multiday alcohol treatment in adolescent and adult male and female rats. METHODS Animals were treated with a 5-day regimen of alcohol injections (3 daily intraperitoneal injections of 1.5 g/kg at 3-hour intervals, total of 15) starting on postnatal day (PN) 28 or PN 70. Spontaneous withdrawal signs and anxiety-like behavior (light/dark box) were assessed 18 hours after the last injection as described. One cohort of rats was treated with alcohol, killed 18 hours after the last injection, and blood was collected to assess corticosterone. Another cohort of rats was treated with alcohol or vehicle, given 1, 2, or 3 alcohol injections (1.5 g/kg), and killed 1 hour after final injection to determine blood alcohol concentration (BAC). Finally, adult and adolescent males and females received 5 days of alcohol or vehicle treatment followed by a final challenge with alcohol (3 g/kg), and blood was collected for corticosterone. RESULTS BAC was comparable in adolescents and adults. Spontaneous withdrawal signs were comparable in adolescents and adults, and no sex differences were observed. Anxiety-like behaviors (time and distance in light, latency to emerge, and light entries) differed in alcohol- and vehicle-treated adults but not adolescents. Corticosterone was not elevated at withdrawal. Alcohol increased corticosterone significantly in vehicle-treated animals, but both adolescents and adults were tolerant to alcohol-induced elevation of corticosterone after 5 days of alcohol treatment. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that adolescents experience milder negative affect during withdrawal from brief alcohol exposures relative to adults but comparable suppression of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weston Fleming
- Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina
| | - Quincy Jones
- Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina
| | - Upasana Chandra
- Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina
| | - Aashna Saini
- Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina
| | - David Walker
- Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina
| | - Reynold Francis
- Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina
| | - Gabriela Ocampo
- Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina
| | - Cynthia Kuhn
- Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina
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al'Absi M, Nakajima M, Lemieux A. Impact of early life adversity on the stress biobehavioral response during nicotine withdrawal. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2018; 98:108-118. [PMID: 30130691 PMCID: PMC6613643 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.08.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2018] [Revised: 07/30/2018] [Accepted: 08/12/2018] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Exposure to early life adversity (ELA) is associated with increased subsequent risk for addiction and relapse. We examined changes in psychobiological responses to stress in dependent smokers and nonsmoking controls and evaluated how history of early adversity may exacerbate acute changes during nicotine withdrawal and acute stress. Smokers were randomly assigned to one of two conditions; 24 h withdrawal (66 smokers) from smoking and all nicotine-containing products or smoking ad libitum (46 smokers) prior to an acute laboratory stress induction session; and 44 nonsmokers provided normal referencing. The laboratory session included a baseline rest, stress and recovery periods. Plasma and saliva samples for the measurement stress hormones and cardiovascular and self-report mood measures were collected multiple times during the session. Multivariate analysis confirmed that all groups showed stress-related increases in negative mood, cardiovascular measures and stress hormones, particularly smokers in the withdrawal condition. Individuals with high ELA showed greater adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), but lower plasma and salivary cortisol levels, than those with low ELA. Cortisol differences were abolished during tobacco withdrawal. These findings demonstrate that ELA moderates the effects of withdrawal on stress-related biobehavioral changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mustafa al'Absi
- Department of Family Medicine and Biobehavioral Health University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth, MN, USA.
| | - Motohiro Nakajima
- Department of Family Medicine and Biobehavioral Health University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth, MN, USA
| | - Andrine Lemieux
- Department of Family Medicine and Biobehavioral Health University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth, MN, USA
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Zhou Y, Kreek MJ. Involvement of Activated Brain Stress Responsive Systems in Excessive and "Relapse" Alcohol Drinking in Rodent Models: Implications for Therapeutics. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 2018; 366:9-20. [PMID: 29669731 PMCID: PMC5988024 DOI: 10.1124/jpet.117.245621] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2017] [Accepted: 04/16/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Addictive diseases, including addiction to alcohol, pose massive public health costs. Addiction is a chronic relapsing disease caused by both the direct effects induced by drugs and persistent neuroadaptations at the molecular, cellular, and behavioral levels. These drug-type specific neuroadaptations are brought on largely by the reinforcing effects of drugs on the central nervous system and environmental stressors. Results from animal experiments have demonstrated important interactions between alcohol and stress-responsive systems. Addiction to specific drugs such as alcohol, psychostimulants, and opioids shares some common direct or downstream effects on the brain's stress-responsive systems, including arginine vasopressin and its V1b receptors, dynorphin and the κ-opioid receptors, pro-opiomelanocortin/β-endorphin and the μ-opioid receptors, and the endocannabinoids. Further study of these systems through laboratory-based and translational research could lead to the discovery of novel treatment targets and the early optimization of interventions (for example, combination) for the pharmacologic therapy of alcoholism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Zhou
- Laboratory of Biology of Addictive Diseases, Rockefeller University, New York, New York
| | - Mary Jeanne Kreek
- Laboratory of Biology of Addictive Diseases, Rockefeller University, New York, New York
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Abstract
Animal models provide rapid, inexpensive assessments of an investigational drug's therapeutic potential. Ideally, they support the plausibility of therapeutic efficacy and provide a rationale for further investigation. Here, I discuss how the absence of clear effective-ineffective categories for alcohol use disorder (AUD) medications and biases in the clinical and preclinical literature affect the development of predictive preclinical alcohol dependence (AD) models. Invoking the analogical argument concept from the philosophy of science field, I discuss how models of excessive alcohol drinking support the plausibility of clinical pharmacotherapy effects. Even though these models are not likely be completely discriminative, they are sensitive to clinically effective medications and have revealed dozens of novel medication targets. In that context, I discuss recent preclinical work on GLP-1 receptor agonists, phosphodiesterase inhibitors, glucocorticoid receptor antagonists, nociception agonists and antagonists, and CRF1 antagonists. Clinically approved medications are available for each of these drug classes. I conclude by advocating a translational approach in which drugs are evaluated highly congruent preclinical models and human laboratory studies. Once translation is established, I suggest the burden is to develop hypothesis-based therapeutic interventions maximizing the impact of the confirmed pharmacotherapeutic effects in the context of additional variables falling outside the model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark Egli
- Division of Neuroscience and Behavior, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
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Čupić Ž, Stanojević A, Marković VM, Kolar-Anić L, Terenius L, Vukojević V. The HPA axis and ethanol: a synthesis of mathematical modelling and experimental observations. Addict Biol 2017; 22:1486-1500. [PMID: 27189379 DOI: 10.1111/adb.12409] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2015] [Revised: 03/24/2016] [Accepted: 04/11/2016] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Stress and alcohol use are interrelated-stress contributes to the initiation and upholding of alcohol use and alcohol use alters the way we perceive and respond to stress. Intricate mechanisms through which ethanol alters the organism's response to stress remain elusive. We have developed a stoichiometric network model to succinctly describe neurochemical transformations underlying the stress response axis and use numerical simulations to model ethanol effects on complex daily changes of blood levels of cholesterol, 6 peptide and 8 steroid hormones. Modelling suggests that ethanol alters the dynamical regulation of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity by affecting the amplitude of ultradian oscillations of HPA axis hormones, which defines the threshold with respect to which the response to stress is being set. These effects are complex-low/moderate acute ethanol challenge (<8 mM) may reduce, leave unaltered or increase the amplitude of ultradian cortisol (CORT) oscillations, giving rise to an intricate response at the organism level, offering also a potential explanation as to why apparently discordant results were observed in experimental studies. In contrast, high-dose acute ethanol challenge (>8 mM) increases instantaneous CORT levels and the amplitude of ultradian CORT oscillations in a dose-dependent manner, affecting the HPA axis activity also during the following day(s). Chronic exposure to ethanol qualitatively changes the HPA axis dynamics, whereas ethanol at intoxicating levels shuts down this dynamic regulation mechanism. Mathematical modelling gives a quantitative biology-based framework that can be used for predicting how the integral HPA axis response is perturbed by alcohol.
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Affiliation(s)
- Željko Čupić
- Institute of Chemistry, Technology and Metallurgy, Department of Catalysis and Chemical Engineering; University of Belgrade; Belgrade Serbia
| | - Ana Stanojević
- Faculty of Physical Chemistry; University of Belgrade; Belgrade Serbia
| | | | - Ljiljana Kolar-Anić
- Institute of Chemistry, Technology and Metallurgy, Department of Catalysis and Chemical Engineering; University of Belgrade; Belgrade Serbia
- Faculty of Physical Chemistry; University of Belgrade; Belgrade Serbia
| | - Lars Terenius
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Center for Molecular Medicine; Karolinska Institutet; Stockholm Sweden
| | - Vladana Vukojević
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Center for Molecular Medicine; Karolinska Institutet; Stockholm Sweden
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Jimenez VA, Grant KA. Studies using macaque monkeys to address excessive alcohol drinking and stress interactions. Neuropharmacology 2017; 122:127-135. [PMID: 28347838 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2017.03.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2017] [Revised: 03/20/2017] [Accepted: 03/23/2017] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The use of non-human primates (NHPs) in studies of volitional, oral self-administration of alcohol can help address the complex interplay between stress and excessive alcohol consumption. There are aspects to brain, endocrine and behavior of NHPs, particularly macaques, that provide a critical translational link towards understanding the risks and consequences of alcohol use disorders (AUDs) in humans. These include wide individual differences in escalating daily alcohol intake, accurate measures of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis hormonal interactions, neuroanatomical specificity of synaptic adaptations to chronic alcohol, genetic similarities to humans, and the ability to conduct in vivo brain imaging. When placed in a framework that alcohol addiction is a sequence of dysregulations in motivational circuitry associated with severity of AUD, the NHP can provide within-subject information on both risks for and consequences of repeatedly drinking to intoxication. Notably, long-term adaptations in neurocircuitry that mediate behavioral reinforcement, stress responses and executive functions are possible with NHPs. We review here the substantial progress made using NHPs to address the complex relationship between alcohol and stress as risk factors and consequences of daily drinking to intoxication. This review also highlights areas where future studies of brain and HPA axis adaptations are needed to better understand the mechanisms involved in stress leading to excessive alcohol consumption. This article is part of the Special Issue entitled "Alcoholism".
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Affiliation(s)
- Vanessa A Jimenez
- Oregon Health & Science University, Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Kathleen A Grant
- Oregon Health & Science University, Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Portland, OR, USA; Oregon National Primate Research Center, Division of Neuroscience, Beaverton, OR, USA.
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Pahng AR, McGinn MA, Paulsen RI, Edwards S. The Prefrontal Cortex as a Critical Gate of Negative Affect and Motivation in Alcohol Use Disorder. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2017; 13:139-143. [PMID: 28111628 PMCID: PMC5242235 DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2016.11.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
The prefrontal cortex (PFC) represents and executes the highest forms of goal-directed behavior, and has thereby attained a central neuroanatomical position in most pathophysiological conceptualizations of motivational disorders, including alcohol use disorder (AUD). Excessive, intermittent exposure to alcohol produces an allostatic dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis along with heightened forebrain glucocorticoid signaling that can damage PFC architecture and function. Negative affective states intimately associated with the transition to alcohol dependence result not only from a dysregulated HPA axis, but also from the inability of a damaged PFC to regulate subcortical stress and reinforcement centers, including the ventral striatum and amygdala. Several cognitive symptoms commonly associated with severe AUD, ranging from poor risk management to the cognitive/affective dimension of pain, are likely mediated by altered function of key anatomical elements that modulate PFC executive function, including contributions from the cingulate cortex and insula. Future therapeutic strategies for severe AUD should focus on attenuating the deleterious effects of excessive stress hormone activity on cognitive/affective and motivational behaviors gated by the PFC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda R Pahng
- Department of Physiology, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Center of Excellence, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA
| | - M Adrienne McGinn
- Department of Physiology, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Center of Excellence, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA
| | - Rod I Paulsen
- Department of Physiology, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Center of Excellence, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA
| | - Scott Edwards
- Department of Physiology, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Center of Excellence, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA
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Gilpin NW, Weiner JL. Neurobiology of comorbid post-traumatic stress disorder and alcohol-use disorder. GENES BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR 2016; 16:15-43. [PMID: 27749004 DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 102] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2016] [Revised: 10/03/2016] [Accepted: 10/07/2016] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol-use disorder (AUD) are highly comorbid in humans. Although we have some understanding of the structural and functional brain changes that define each of these disorders, and how those changes contribute to the behavioral symptoms that define them, little is known about the neurobiology of comorbid PTSD and AUD, which may be due in part to a scarcity of adequate animal models for examining this research question. The goal of this review is to summarize the current state-of-the-science on comorbid PTSD and AUD. We summarize epidemiological data documenting the prevalence of this comorbidity, review what is known about the potential neurobiological basis for the frequent co-occurrence of PTSD and AUD and discuss successes and failures of past and current treatment strategies. We also review animal models that aim to examine comorbid PTSD and AUD, highlighting where the models parallel the human condition, and we discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each model. We conclude by discussing key gaps in our knowledge and strategies for addressing them: in particular, we (1) highlight the need for better animal models of the comorbid condition and better clinical trial design, (2) emphasize the need for examination of subpopulation effects and individual differences and (3) urge cross-talk between basic and clinical researchers that is reflected in collaborative work with forward and reverse translational impact.
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Affiliation(s)
- N W Gilpin
- Department of Physiology, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA.,Neuroscience Center of Excellence, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA
| | - J L Weiner
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA
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15
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Trifunović S, Manojlović-Stojanoski M, Ristić N, Jurijević BŠ, Balind SR, Brajković G, Perčinić-Popovska F, Milošević V. Effects of prolonged alcohol exposure on somatotrophs and corticotrophs in adult rats: Stereological and hormonal study. Acta Histochem 2016; 118:353-60. [PMID: 27017477 DOI: 10.1016/j.acthis.2016.03.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2015] [Revised: 03/14/2016] [Accepted: 03/16/2016] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Exposure to alcohol alters many physiological processes, including endocrine status. The present study examined whether prolonged alcohol (A) exposure could modulate selected stereological and hormonal aspects of pituitary somatotrophs (growth hormone-GH cells) and corticotrophs (adrenocorticotropic hormone-ACTH cells) in adult rats. Changes in pituitary gland volume; the volume density, total number and volume of GH and ACTH cells following alcohol exposure were evaluated using a stereological system (newCAST), while peripheral GH and ACTH levels were determined biochemically. Our results demonstrated the reduction (p<0.05) of the volume density (37%) and volume of GH cells (29%) in the group A. Also, there was a tendency for the total number of GH cells to be smaller in the group A. Serum GH level was significantly decreased (p<0.05; 70%) in the group A when compared to control values. Moreover, prolonged alcohol exposure induced declines (p<0.05) in volume density (24%) and volume of ACTH cells (29%). The total number of ACTH cells and ACTH level were higher (p<0.05; 42%) in the group A than in control rats. Collectively, these results indicate that prolonged alcohol exposure leads not only to changes in GH and ACTH hormone levels, but also to alterations of the morphological aspects of GH and ACTH cells within the pituitary.
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16
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Stoutenberg M, Rethorst CD, Lawson O, Read JP. Exercise training - A beneficial intervention in the treatment of alcohol use disorders? Drug Alcohol Depend 2016; 160:2-11. [PMID: 26652900 PMCID: PMC6083864 DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2015.11.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2015] [Revised: 11/13/2015] [Accepted: 11/17/2015] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND A growing body of evidence suggests that exercise training may have multiple beneficial effects in individuals with mental health or substance use disorders. Yet, relatively little knowledge exists regarding the benefits of exercise training to augment treatment for alcohol use disorders (AUDs). PURPOSE The purpose of this narrative review is to present a summary of the growing body of published literature supporting exercise training as a treatment strategy for individuals with AUDs. We will provide evidence on the myriad of ways in which exercise may exert a positive effect on AUD outcomes including stress, anxiety, impulsivity, and depression. Further, we will explore how these mechanisms share common neurobiological pathways. The role of exercise in enhancing the social environment and increasing individual self-efficacy to reduce excess and/or inappropriate alcohol consumption will also be discussed. DISCUSSION We will conclude with a description of completed investigations involving exercise training and provide suggestions for next steps in this innovative field of study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark Stoutenberg
- Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 1120 NW 14th Street, Clinical Research Building, Suite 1008, Miami, FL 33136, USA.
| | - Chad D. Rethorst
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - Olivia Lawson
- Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 1120 NW 14th Street, Clinical Research Building, Suite 1008, Miami, FL 33136, USA
| | - Jennifer P. Read
- Department of Psychology, The State University of New York at Buffalo, 213 Park Hall, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA
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17
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Phillips TJ, Reed C, Pastor R. Preclinical evidence implicating corticotropin-releasing factor signaling in ethanol consumption and neuroadaptation. GENES BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR 2015; 14:98-135. [PMID: 25565358 DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2014] [Revised: 11/22/2014] [Accepted: 11/25/2014] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The results of many studies support the influence of the corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) system on ethanol (EtOH) consumption and EtOH-induced neuroadaptations that are critical in the addiction process. This review summarizes the preclinical data in this area after first providing an overview of the components of the CRF system. This complex system involves hypothalamic and extra-hypothalamic mechanisms that play a role in the central and peripheral consequences of stressors, including EtOH and other drugs of abuse. In addition, several endogenous ligands and targets make up this system and show differences in their involvement in EtOH drinking and in the effects of chronic or repeated EtOH treatment. In general, genetic and pharmacological approaches paint a consistent picture of the importance of CRF signaling via type 1 CRF receptors (CRF(1)) in EtOH-induced neuroadaptations that result in higher levels of intake, encourage alcohol seeking during abstinence and alter EtOH sensitivity. Furthermore, genetic findings in rodents, non-human primates and humans have provided some evidence of associations of genetic polymorphisms in CRF-related genes with EtOH drinking, although additional data are needed. These results suggest that CRF(1) antagonists have potential as pharmacotherapeutics for alcohol use disorders. However, given the broad and important role of these receptors in adaptation to environmental and other challenges, full antagonist effects may be too profound and consideration should be given to treatments with modulatory effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- T J Phillips
- VA Portland Health Care System, Portland Alcohol Research Center, Methamphetamine Abuse Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA; Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Portland Alcohol Research Center, Methamphetamine Abuse Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
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18
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Zhou Y, Lapingo C. Modulation of proopiomelanocortin gene expression by ethanol in mouse anterior pituitary corticotrope tumor cell AtT20. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2014; 192-193:6-14. [PMID: 25072633 DOI: 10.1016/j.regpep.2014.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2014] [Revised: 06/12/2014] [Accepted: 07/21/2014] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
In humans, alcoholism is associated with a decrease in basal ACTH and cortisol levels, and blunted pituitary ACTH responses to administered corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) during active drinking and after long-term abstinence. Preclinical studies indicate that a persistent decrease in pituitary activation after chronic exposure to ethanol is due to a direct effect of ethanol on the corticotrope of the anterior pituitary. The present studies were undertaken to determine if ethanol has effects on proopiomelanocortin (POMC) gene transcription activity in mouse anterior pituitary corticotrope tumor cell AtT20. We measured the levels of the POMC primary nuclear RNA transcript (PT), processing intermediate, and mature mRNA in the nucleus and the levels of the POMC mRNA in the cytoplasm after treatment of AtT20 cells with 5-15 mM concentrations of ethanol. After 15 mM ethanol for 60 to 120 min, the POMC PT levels were significantly decreased. This decreased POMC gene transcription activity was coupled with a significant reduction of the POMC cytoplasmic mRNA levels. After ethanol for 4h, however, both the decreases were no longer observed. After 8h, a decrease in the ACTH secretion in the medium was found. We further investigated if CRH or glutamate modulates the effects of ethanol on the POMC gene transcription activity. CRH at 10nM after 60 min increased the POMC PT levels, and 15mM ethanol attenuated the effect of CRH on the nuclear transcription activity. Glutamate receptor proteins, including NMDA receptor subtype NR1 (but not NR2A or NR2B) and GluR2, were identified by Western immunoblot analysis in AtT20 cells, with similar sizes to those in mouse hypothalamus. The inhibitory effect of 60 min ethanol at 5 to 15 mM on the POMC PT levels was attenuated by 50 μM L-glutamate. Together, our data showed that: (1) ethanol treatment in intoxicate doses significantly inhibited POMC gene transcription activity in a dose- and time-dependent manner in AtT20 cells, and (2) the POMC gene transcription activity in response to CRH or glutamate was altered by ethanol. Our results suggest that ethanol has an inhibitory effect on the POMC gene transcription activity in the anterior pituitary corticotrope, which may contribute to the persistent decrease in pituitary activation after chronic ethanol exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Zhou
- Department of Neurobiology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY 10029, USA.
| | - Christina Lapingo
- Department of Neurobiology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY 10029, USA
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19
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Lu YL, Richardson HN. Alcohol, stress hormones, and the prefrontal cortex: a proposed pathway to the dark side of addiction. Neuroscience 2014; 277:139-51. [PMID: 24998895 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2014.06.053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2014] [Revised: 06/23/2014] [Accepted: 06/24/2014] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Chronic exposure to alcohol produces changes in the prefrontal cortex that are thought to contribute to the development and maintenance of alcoholism. A large body of literature suggests that stress hormones play a critical role in this process. Here we review the bi-directional relationship between alcohol and stress hormones, and discuss how alcohol acutely stimulates the release of glucocorticoids and induces enduring modifications to neuroendocrine stress circuits during the transition from non-dependent drinking to alcohol dependence. We propose a pathway by which alcohol and stress hormones elicit neuroadaptive changes in prefrontal circuitry that could contribute functionally to a dampened neuroendocrine state and the increased propensity to relapse-a spiraling trajectory that could eventually lead to dependence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Y-L Lu
- Neuroscience and Behavior Program, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, United States
| | - H N Richardson
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, United States.
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20
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Zhou Y, Kreek MJ. Alcohol: a stimulant activating brain stress responsive systems with persistent neuroadaptation. Neuropharmacology 2014; 87:51-8. [PMID: 24929109 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2014.05.044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2014] [Revised: 05/08/2014] [Accepted: 05/19/2014] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Addictive diseases, including addiction to alcohol, opiates or cocaine, pose massive public health costs. Addictions are chronic relapsing brain diseases, caused by drug-induced direct effects and persistent neuroadaptations at the molecular, cellular and behavioral levels. These drug-type specific neuroadapations are mainly contributed by three factors: environment, including stress, the direct reinforcing effects of the drug on the CNS, and genetics. Results from animal models and basic clinical research (including human genetic study) have shown important interactions between the stress responsive systems and alcohol abuse. In this review we will discuss the involvement of the dysregulation of the stress responsive hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in alcohol addiction (Section I). Addictions to specific drugs such as alcohol, psychostimulants and opiates (e.g., heroin) have some common direct or downstream effects on several brain stress-responsive systems, including vasopressin and its receptor system (Section II), POMC and mu opioid receptor system (Section III) and dynorphin and kappa opioid receptor systems (Section IV). Further understanding of these systems, through laboratory-based and translational studies, have the potential to optimize early interventions and to discover new treatment targets for the therapy of alcoholism. This article is part of the Special Issue entitled 'CNS Stimulants'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Zhou
- Laboratory of the Biology of Addictive Diseases, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Mary Jeanne Kreek
- Laboratory of the Biology of Addictive Diseases, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA.
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21
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Rivier C. Role of hypothalamic corticotropin-releasing factor in mediating alcohol-induced activation of the rat hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. Front Neuroendocrinol 2014; 35:221-33. [PMID: 24211830 DOI: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2013.10.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2013] [Revised: 10/28/2013] [Accepted: 10/29/2013] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Alcohol stimulates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis through brain-based mechanisms in which endogenous corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) plays a major role. This review first discusses the evidence for this role, as well as the possible importance of intermediates such as vasopressin, nitric oxide and catecholamines. We then illustrate the long-term influence exerted by alcohol on the HPA axis, such as the ability of a first exposure to this drug during adolescence, to permanently blunt neuroendocrine responses to subsequent exposure of the drug. In view of the role played by CRF in addiction, it is likely that a better understanding of the mechanisms through which this drug stimulates the HPA axis may lead to the development of new therapies used in the treatment of alcohol abuse, including clinically relevant CRF antagonists.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catherine Rivier
- The Salk Institute, The Clayton Foundation Laboratories for Peptide Biology, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
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22
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Sex-dependent effects of maternal separation on plasma corticosterone and brain monoamines in response to chronic ethanol administration. Neuroscience 2013; 253:55-66. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2013.08.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2013] [Revised: 07/22/2013] [Accepted: 08/20/2013] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
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23
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Ford MM, Steele AM, McCracken AD, Finn DA, Grant KA. The relationship between adjunctive drinking, blood ethanol concentration and plasma corticosterone across fixed-time intervals of food delivery in two inbred mouse strains. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2013; 38:2598-610. [PMID: 23827168 PMCID: PMC3812349 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2013.06.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2012] [Revised: 05/21/2013] [Accepted: 06/07/2013] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Schedules of intermittent food delivery induce excessive fluid intake, termed schedule-induced polydipsia (SIP), and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activation is important for the expression and maintenance of this adjunctive behavior. Previous work has focused on examining the relationship between water intake and plasma corticosterone (CORT) in rats at a single or a limited range of fixed time (FT) intervals. However, little remains known regarding SIP and the corresponding stress response (1) across the bitonic function that epitomizes adjunctive behavior, (2) when ethanol is the available fluid, and (3) when a species other than rat or multiple strains are studied. Here we report the findings from ethanol-preferring C57BL/6J (B6) and non-preferring DBA/2J (D2) mice serially exposed to progressively larger FT intervals (0 → 60 min) and given access to either water or a 5% (v/v) ethanol solution. Following 2 weeks of experience with each schedule, blood samples were collected at the conclusion of the last 60-min session to evaluate CORT and the blood ethanol concentration (BEC) achieved. While both strains exhibited a bitonic function of ethanol intake and BEC that peaked at or near a 5-min interval, only D2 mice showed a similar response with water. In contrast, CORT levels rose monotonically with incremental increases in the FT interval regardless of the strain examined or fluid type offered, indicating that glucocorticoid release likely reflects the aversive aspects of increasing intervals between reinforcement rather than engagement in adjunctive behavior. These findings also caution against the use of a single intensity stressor to evaluate the relationship between stress and ethanol intake, as the magnitude of stress appears to affect ethanol consumption in a non-linear fashion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew M. Ford
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon U.S.A,Division of Neuroscience, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon U.S.A,Corresponding Author: Matthew M. Ford, Ph.D., Division of Neuroscience, Oregon National Primate Research Center (L-584), Oregon Health & Science University, 505 NW 185th Avenue, Beaverton, OR 97006; Phone: 503-614-3716; Fax: 503-690-5384;
| | - Andrea M. Steele
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon U.S.A
| | - Aubrey D. McCracken
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon U.S.A
| | - Deborah A. Finn
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon U.S.A,Department of Research, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Portland, Oregon U.S.A
| | - Kathleen A. Grant
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon U.S.A,Division of Neuroscience, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon U.S.A
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24
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Costin BN, Dever SM, Miles MF. Ethanol regulation of serum glucocorticoid kinase 1 expression in DBA2/J mouse prefrontal cortex. PLoS One 2013; 8:e72979. [PMID: 23991167 PMCID: PMC3750005 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0072979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2013] [Accepted: 07/22/2013] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Background We previously identified a group of glucocorticoid-responsive genes, including Serum Glucocorticoid kinase 1 (Sgk1), regulated by acute ethanol in prefrontal cortex of DBA2/J mice. Acute ethanol activates the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis (HPA) causing release of glucocorticoids. Chronic ethanol dysregulates the HPA response in both humans and rodents, possibly contributing to important interactions between stress and alcoholism. Because Sgk1 regulates ion channels and learning and memory, we hypothesized that Sgk1 contributes to HPA-dependent acute and adaptive neuronal responses to ethanol. These studies characterized acute and chronic ethanol regulation of Sgk1 mRNA and protein and their relationship with ethanol actions on the HPA axis. Results Acute ethanol increased Sgk1 mRNA expression in a dose and time dependent manner. Three separate results suggested that ethanol regulated Sgk1 via circulating glucocorticoids: acute ethanol increased glucocorticoid receptor binding to the Sgk1 promoter; adrenalectomy blocked ethanol induction of Sgk1 mRNA; and chronic ethanol exposure during locomotor sensitization down-regulated HPA axis activation and Sgk1 induction by acute ethanol. SGK1 protein had complex temporal responses to acute ethanol with rapid and transient increases in Ser422 phosphorylation at 15 min. following ethanol administration. This activating phosphorylation had functional consequences, as suggested by increased phosphorylation of the known SGK1 target, N-myc downstream-regulated gene 1 (NDRG1). After repeated ethanol administration during locomotor sensitization, basal SGK1 protein phosphorylation increased despite blunting of Sgk1 mRNA induction by ethanol. Conclusions These results suggest that HPA axis and glucocorticoid receptor signaling mediate acute ethanol induction of Sgk1 transcription in mouse prefrontal cortex. However, acute ethanol also causes complex changes in SGK1 protein expression and activity. Chronic ethanol modifies both SGK1 protein and HPA-mediated induction of Sgk1 mRNA. These adaptive molecular responses of glucocorticoid-responsive gene expression and SGK1 in prefrontal cortex may contribute to mechanisms underlying behavioral responses to chronic ethanol exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Blair N. Costin
- Virginia Commonwealth University Alcohol Research Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, United States of America
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Seth M. Dever
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Michael F. Miles
- Virginia Commonwealth University Alcohol Research Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, United States of America
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, United States of America
- Center for Study of Biological Complexity, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, United States of America
- Department of Neurology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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25
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Logrip ML, Rivier C, Lau C, Im S, Vaughan J, Lee S. Adolescent alcohol exposure alters the rat adult hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis responsiveness in a sex-specific manner. Neuroscience 2013; 235:174-86. [PMID: 23337533 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2012.12.069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2012] [Revised: 12/07/2012] [Accepted: 12/17/2012] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Exposure to alcohol during adolescence exerts long-term effects on the adult brain stress circuits, causing many changes that persist into adulthood. Here we examined the consequences of adolescent intermittent ethanol (AIE, administered from postnatal day (PND) 28-42) on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis-related brain circuitry of rats challenged with intragastric (ig) administration of alcohol in adulthood (PND 70-71). Both male and female adolescent rats were exposed to alcohol vapors, while controls did not receive the drug, to assess whether AIE alters adult alcohol response in a sex-specific manner. We demonstrated that AIE increased paraventricular nucleus (PVN) Avp mRNA levels during late (PND 42) but not middle (PND 36) adolescence in males. While an alcohol challenge administered to 70-71-day-old rats increased Crf mRNA levels in males and Avp mRNA levels in females, AIE blunted both effects. These results suggest that AIE produced long-lasting changes in the responsiveness of the HPA axis to a subsequent alcohol challenge in a sex-specific manner. Furthermore, AIE altered adrenergic brain stem nuclei involved in stress responses in adulthood, resulting in increased numbers of phenylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PNMT) neurons in male C2 and female C1 regions. This tended to enhance activation of the male C2 nucleus upon alcohol challenge. Collectively, these results suggest that AIE exerts long-term effects on the ability of the PVN to respond to an alcohol challenge in adulthood, possibly mediated by catecholaminergic input from the brain stem to the PVN.
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Affiliation(s)
- M L Logrip
- The Clayton Foundation Laboratories for Peptide Biology, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
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26
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Sinha R. How does stress lead to risk of alcohol relapse? Alcohol Res 2012; 34:432-40. [PMID: 23584109 PMCID: PMC3788822] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Empirical findings from human laboratory and brain-imaging studies are consistent with clinical observations and indicate that chronic alcohol-related dysfunction in emotional and stress responses plays a role in motivation to consume alcohol in people with alcohol use disorders. Recent findings on differences in stress responsivity in alcohol-dependent versus nondependent social drinkers demonstrate alterations in stress pathways that partially may explain the significant contribution of stress-related mechanisms on craving and relapse susceptibility. These findings have significant implications for clinical practice, including (1) the development of novel brain and stress biology-related measures of relapse risk that could serve as biomarkers to identify those most at risk of alcohol relapse during early recovery from alcoholism; and (2) the development of novel interventions that target stress-related effects on the motivation to drink alcohol and on relapse outcomes.
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27
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Li J, Bian W, Dave V, Ye JH. Blockade of GABA(A) receptors in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus attenuates voluntary ethanol intake and activates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis. Addict Biol 2011; 16:600-14. [PMID: 21762292 DOI: 10.1111/j.1369-1600.2011.00344.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
The paraventricular nucleus (PVN) in the hypothalamus is the main integration site that controls the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) neuroendocrine stress system. Disruption of this system has been linked with alcoholism, but the specific role of the PVN has not been fully explored. Of particular interest is the ability of γ-aminobutyric acid type A receptors (GABA(A)Rs) in the PVN, to regulate ethanol self-administration behavior, as these receptors appear to play an essential role in mediating the effects of ethanol in the central nervous system and in the regulation of PVN activity. We observed that Long-Evans rats, in the intermittent access to 20% ethanol paradigm, consumed high amounts of ethanol and subsequently developed ethanol dependence. Microinjection of the GABA(A)R antagonist picrotoxin into the PVN, but not to the lateral ventricle of the brain, significantly reduced the intake of ethanol, but not the intake of sucrose. Picrotoxin-induced reduction was mimicked by another GABA(A)R antagonist bicuculline but was attenuated by the GABA(A)R agonist muscimol. Moreover, increased ethanol consumption was associated with lowered blood corticosterone levels, indicating a blunted HPA signaling, which was reversed by intra-PVN injection of picrotoxin, as indicated by the increased Fos immunostaining-positive cells in the PVN and the increased blood corticosterone levels. Taken together, our data provide evidence that in ethanol-dependent rats, the function of GABA(A)Rs in the PVN is upregulated, leading to a dampened HPA system. Moreover, it demonstrates that the GABA(A)R antagonists normalize HPA axis signaling and reduce excessive ethanol drinking. Therefore, drugs targeting GABA(A)Rs may be beneficial for alcoholics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Li
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, New Jersey Medical School, Newark, 07103, USA
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28
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Etelälahti TJ, Saarikoski ST, Eriksson CP. Associations of corticosterone and testosterone with alcohol drinking in F2 populations derived from AA and ANA rat lines. Alcohol 2011; 45:421-6. [PMID: 21621369 DOI: 10.1016/j.alcohol.2011.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2010] [Revised: 04/27/2011] [Accepted: 04/28/2011] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
In our previous studies on alcohol-preferring AA (Alko alcohol) and nonpreferring ANA (Alko nonalcohol) rats, we have observed that the AA rats exhibit lower endogenous levels of corticosterone, higher testosterone levels, and more frequent alcohol-induced testosterone elevations when compared with ANA rats. The objective of the present study was to get more conclusive evidence for the potential role of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal and hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axes in alcohol drinking by using the F2 experimental design. Alcohol-preferring AA and alcohol-nonpreferring ANA rat lines were crossbred to form a F1 population from which the final F2 population was derived. Male animals were challenged with a priming alcohol dose after which a 3 weeks' voluntary alcohol drinking period took place. After a washout period of 1 week, one-half of the 40 highest and 40 lowest alcohol drinkers were challenged with a second dose of alcohol and the other half with saline. Serum testosterone and corticosterone levels were measured before and during the test. Higher endogenous testosterone levels were detected in the rats of the high alcohol consumption group compared with the low consumption group. Also supporting the original AA/ANA line differences, a trend for lower endogenous corticosterone levels were measured in the high alcohol consumption group compared with the low consumption group. The alcohol challenge test after the drinking period resulted in a higher frequency (38%) of testosterone elevations in the high drinkers compared with the low drinkers (5%). The present data confirms the validity of the positive connections between testosterone elevation and increased alcohol drinking, as well as between testosterone reduction and decreased alcohol drinking, in AA and ANA rats.
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Allen CD, Lee S, Koob GF, Rivier C. Immediate and prolonged effects of alcohol exposure on the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in adult and adolescent rats. Brain Behav Immun 2011; 25 Suppl 1:S50-60. [PMID: 21300146 PMCID: PMC3098294 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2011.01.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2010] [Revised: 01/20/2011] [Accepted: 01/20/2011] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Alcohol stimulates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Part of this influence is likely exerted directly at the level of the corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) gene, but intermediates may also play a role. Here we review the effect of alcohol on this axis, provide new data on the effects of binge drinking during adolescence, and argue for a role of catecholaminergic circuits. Indeed, acute injection of this drug activates brain stem adrenergic and noradrenergic circuits, and their lesion, or blockade of α1 adrenergic receptors significantly blunts alcohol-induced ACTH release. As alcohol can influence the HPA axis even once discontinued, and alcohol consumption in young people is associated with increased adult drug abuse (a phenomenon possibly mediated by the HPA axis), we determined whether alcohol consumption during adolescence modified this axis. The number of CRF-immunoreactive (ir) cells/section was significantly decreased in the central nucleus of the amygdala of adolescent self-administering binge-drinking animals, compared to controls. When another group of adolescent binge-drinking rats was administered alcohol in adulthood, the number of colocalized c-fos-ir and PNMT-ir cells/brain stem section in the C3 area was significantly decreased, compared to controls. As the HPA axis response to alcohol is blunted in adult rats exposed to alcohol vapors during adolescence, a phenomenon which was not observed in our model of self-administration, it is possible that the blood alcohol levels achieved in various models play a role in the long-term consequences of exposure to alcohol early in life. Collectively, these results suggest an important role of brain catecholamines in modulating the short- and long-term consequences of alcohol administration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camryn D Allen
- The Clayton Foundation Laboratories for Peptide Biology, The Salk Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
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Adolescent alcohol exposure alters the central brain circuits known to regulate the stress response. Neuroscience 2011; 182:162-8. [PMID: 21382450 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2011.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2010] [Revised: 02/09/2011] [Accepted: 03/01/2011] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Adolescent alcohol exposure (AAE) may exert long-term effects on the adult brain. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the brain regions affected include the rat hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Specifically, we examined the consequences of AAE [postnatal days (PND) 28-42] on the HPA axis-related brain circuitry of male rats challenged with an intragastric (ig) administration of alcohol in young adulthood (PND 61-62). Adolescent rats were exposed to alcohol vapors, while controls did not receive the drug. The mean blood alcohol level in adolescence on PND 40 was 212.8±5.7 mg %. Using immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization procedures, we measured signals for c-fos and corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus, as well as signals for c-fos and phenylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PNMT) in the adrenergic brain stem regions (C1 and C2). PVN CRF mRNA expression was significantly blunted in AAE rats tested at PND 61-62, compared to their controls. These animals also displayed a significant increase in the mean number of PNMT-ir cells/brain stem section in the C2 area. Collectively, these results suggest that exposure to alcohol vapors during adolescence exerts long-term effects on the ability of the PVN to mount a response to an acute alcohol administration in young adulthood, possibly mediated by medullary catecholamine input to the PVN.
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Mohn CE, Fernandez-Solari J, De Laurentiis A, Bornstein SR, Ehrhart-Bornstein M, Rettori V. Adrenal gland responses to lipopolysaccharide after stress and ethanol administration in male rats. Stress 2011; 14:216-26. [PMID: 21291319 DOI: 10.3109/10253890.2010.532254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
All forms of stress, including restraint stress (RS) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) administration, activate the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. LPS binds to a recognition protein (CD14) and toll-like receptor 2/4 in different cells and tissues, including the adrenal gland, to induce the production of cytokines and cause upregulation of cyclooxygenase and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) enzymes. Acute ethanol exposure activates the HPA axis, but in some conditions prolonged administration can dampen this activation as well as decrease the inflammatory responses to LPS. Therefore, this study was designed to evaluate the adrenal response to a challenge dose of LPS (50 μg/kg) injected i.p., after submitting male rats to RS, twice a day (2 h each time) for 5 days and/or ethanol administration (3 g/kg) by gavage also for 5 days, twice daily. At the end of the experiment, plasma corticosterone concentrations and adrenal gland content of prostaglandin E (PGE) and NOS activity were measured as stress mediators. The results showed that repetitive ethanol administration attenuated the adrenal stress response to LPS challenge alone and after RS, by preventing the increase in plasma corticosterone concentrations and by decreasing the PGE content and NOS activity in the adrenal gland. Therefore, we conclude that moderate alcohol consumption could attenuate the effects of psychophysical stress and impair an inflammatory response.
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Affiliation(s)
- C E Mohn
- Centro de Estudios Farmacol?gicos y Bot?nicos (CEFYBO-CONICET-UBA), Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Paraguay 2155, 1121ABG Buenos Aires, Argentina
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CRF-1 antagonist and CRF-2 agonist decrease binge-like ethanol drinking in C57BL/6J mice independent of the HPA axis. Neuropsychopharmacology 2010; 35:1241-52. [PMID: 20130533 PMCID: PMC2927867 DOI: 10.1038/npp.2009.209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 104] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Recent evidence suggests that corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) receptor (CRFR) signaling is involved in modulating binge-like ethanol consumption in C57BL/6J mice. In this report, a series of experiments were performed to further characterize the role of CRFR signaling in binge-like ethanol consumption. The role of central CRFR signaling was assessed with intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) infusion of the nonselective CRFR antagonist, alpha-helical CRF(9-41) (0, 1, 5, 10 microg/1 microl). The contribution of central CRF type 2 receptor (CRF(2)R) signaling was assessed with i.c.v. infusion of the selective CRF(2)R agonist, urocortin (Ucn) 3 (0, 0.05, 0.1, or 0.5 microg/1 microl). The role of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis was assessed by pretreating mice with intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of (1) the corticosterone synthesis inhibitor, metyrapone (0, 50, 100, 150 mg/kg) or (2) the glucocorticoid receptor antagonist, mifepristone (0, 25, 50 mg/kg), and (3) by using radioimmunoassay to determine whether binge-like ethanol intake influenced plasma corticosterone levels. Finally, we determined whether the ability of the CRF(1)R antagonist, CP-154,526 (CP; 0, 10, 15 mg/kg, i.p.), to blunt binge-like drinking required normal HPA axis signaling by comparing the effectiveness of CP in adrenalectomized (ADX) and normal mice. Results showed that i.c.v. infusion of a 1 microg dose of alpha-helical CRF(9-41) significantly attenuated binge-like ethanol consumption relative to vehicle treatment, and i.c.v. infusion of Ucn 3 dose-dependently blunted binge-like drinking. On the other hand, metyrapone nonselectively reduced both ethanol and sucrose consumption, mifepristone did not alter ethanol drinking, and binge-like drinking did not correlate with plasma corticosterone levels. Finally, i.p. injection of CP significantly attenuated binge-like ethanol intake in both ADX and normal mice. Together, these results suggest that binge-like ethanol intake in C57BL/6J mice is modulated by CRF(1)R and CRF(2)R signaling, such that blockade of CRF(1)R or activation of CRF(2)R effectively reduces excessive ethanol intake. Furthermore, normal HPA axis signaling is not necessary to achieve binge-like drinking behavior.
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Witkiewitz K, Holmes A, Ray LA, Murphy JG, Richardson HN, Chen YC, McDevitt-Murphy ME, Cruz MT, Roberto M. Young Investigator Award symposium. Alcohol 2009; 43:499-508. [PMID: 19913193 DOI: 10.1016/j.alcohol.2009.06.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2009] [Revised: 05/18/2009] [Accepted: 06/21/2009] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
This article highlights the research presented at the inaugural meeting of Alcoholism and Stress: A Framework for future Treatment Strategies. This meeting was held on May 6-8, 2008 in Volterra, Italy. It is an international meeting dedicated to developing preventive strategies and pharmacotherapeutic remedies for stress- and alcohol-related disorders. For the first time, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) conferred a Young Investigator Award to promote the work of young researchers and highlight their outstanding achievements in the fields of addiction medicine and stress disorders. The awardees were Dr. Katie Witkiewitz (University of Washington), Dr. Andrew Holmes (NIAAA), Dr. Lara A. Ray (Brown University), Dr. James Murphy (University of Memphis), and Dr. Heather Richardson (The Scripps Research Institute). The symposium was chaired by Drs. Fulton Crews and Antonio Noronha.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katie Witkiewitz
- Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98105, USA
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Silva SM, Santos-Marques MJ, Madeira MD. Sexually dimorphic response of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis to chronic alcohol consumption and withdrawal. Brain Res 2009; 1303:61-73. [PMID: 19799878 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2009.09.099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2009] [Revised: 09/15/2009] [Accepted: 09/24/2009] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
In males, long-term alcohol consumption provokes neurochemical changes in the medial parvocellular division of the PVN (PVNmp) that are partially reversed by withdrawal. Because gonadal steroids modulate the activity of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis, we analyzed the possibility that the repercussions of chronic alcohol consumption and withdrawal on the anatomy and neurochemistry of the PVNmp might differ between the sexes. Male and female Wistar rats were examined after ingesting a 20% alcohol solution for 6 months or after 2 months of withdrawal from 6 months of alcohol consumption. The levels of gonadal steroids and the basal concentrations of corticosterone were also evaluated. Chronic alcohol consumption and withdrawal did not alter the global cytoarchitectonic features of the PVNmp in rats of both sexes. However, alcohol consumption was associated with a decrease in the number of vasopressin (VP) neurons only in females and of corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) neurons in males and females. Further, the response to withdrawal was sexually dimorphic because in males there was a partial recovery of the number of CRH neurons whereas in females there was a further loss of VP and CRH neurons. Corticosterone levels were unchanged by alcohol consumption, but they were decreased by withdrawal in females. Alcohol consumption and withdrawal did not alter estrogen and progesterone concentrations in females, but decreased testosterone levels in males. These findings show that the response of CRH and VP neurons to excess alcohol is gender-specific, with females being more vulnerable during alcohol consumption and, most notably, after withdrawal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susana M Silva
- Department of Anatomy, Porto Medical School, University of Porto, Alameda Professor Hernâni Monteiro, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal
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Richardson HN, Lee SY, O’Dell LE, Koob GF, Rivier CL. Alcohol self-administration acutely stimulates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, but alcohol dependence leads to a dampened neuroendocrine state. Eur J Neurosci 2008; 28:1641-53. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2008.06455.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 223] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
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Knapp DJ, Overstreet DH, Angel RA, Navarro M, Breese GR. The amygdala regulates the antianxiety sensitization effect of flumazenil during repeated chronic ethanol or repeated stress. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2007; 31:1872-82. [PMID: 17908266 PMCID: PMC2864652 DOI: 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2007.00514.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The benzodiazepine receptor antagonist flumazenil reduces anxiety-like behavior and sensitization of anxiety-like behavior in various models of ethanol withdrawal in rodents. The mechanism and brain region(s) that account for this action of flumazenil remain unknown. This investigation explored the potential role of several brain regions (amygdala, raphe, inferior colliculus, nucleus accumbens, and paraventricular hypothalamus) for these actions of flumazenil. METHODS Rats were surgically implanted with guide cannulae directed over the brain region of interest and then treated with an ethanol diet for three 7-day dietary cycles (5 days on ethanol diet followed by 2 days on control diet). At approximately 4 hours, flumazenil was administered intracranially into each of the first 2 withdrawals. Examinations of anxiety-like behavior followed 1 week later during a third withdrawal. In other animals, restraint stress sessions or intra-amygdala DMCM (methyl-6,7-dimethoxy-4-ethyl-beta-carboline-3-carboxylate) injections, preceded by intraperitoneal flumazenil injections, were substituted for the first 2 ethanol treatment cycles to assess the potential anxiety-sensitizing action of stress or a benzodiazepine receptor inverse agonist, respectively. RESULTS Flumazenil treatment of the amygdala during the first 2 withdrawals blocked the development of sensitized anxiety seen during a third withdrawal. Similar actions of flumazenil were found when stress sessions substituted for the first 2 cycles of ethanol exposure and withdrawal. Amygdala treatment with DMCM magnified the anxiety response to the single subthreshold chronic ethanol treatment, and prophylactic flumazenil blocked this effect. CONCLUSIONS Intra-amygdala flumazenil inhibits the development of anxiety sensitized by repeated ethanol withdrawal, stress/ethanol withdrawal, or DMCM/ethanol withdrawal. These actions suggest that site-specific and persistent effects of flumazenil on gamma-aminobutyric acid-modulatory processes in this brain region are relevant to sensitized behavioral effects seen in alcoholism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Darin J Knapp
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-7158, USA.
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Kawakami SE, Quadros IMH, Takahashi S, Suchecki D. Long maternal separation accelerates behavioural sensitization to ethanol in female, but not in male mice. Behav Brain Res 2007; 184:109-16. [PMID: 17675171 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2007.06.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2007] [Revised: 06/04/2007] [Accepted: 06/28/2007] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Early life stress is associated with dysfunction of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, and with aspects involved in drug abuse. In this study, we investigated the effects of brief (BMS) and long maternal separation (LMS) on the HPA axis response and behavioural sensitization to ethanol (EtOH) in male and female mice. From PND 2 to 14, pups were subjected to daily maternal separation for 15 min (BMS) or 180 min (LMS) or no separated, only handled during cage cleaning (animal facility rearing-AFR). As adults, animals were treated every other day with saline (SAL) or EtOH (2.2g/kg), i.p., for 10 days, and immediately after each administration, their locomotor response was evaluated for 15 min. Forty-eight hours after the 5th administration, all animals were challenged with saline, followed 48 h later, by an EtOH challenge. Corticosterone (CORT) plasma levels were determined 3 times: basal, after the 1st administration and after the EtOH challenge. LMS females showed higher CORT levels than BMS females at basal, but not in response to acute or chronic EtOH administration. The CORT response to EtOH was more robust in LMS and BMS male than AFR male mice. Repeated EtOH treatment induced behavioural sensitization in all groups of male mice. In females, LMS induced a faster sensitization, although BMS females also exhibited behavioural sensitization (4th day and 5th day of treatment, respectively). In conclusion, LMS and BMS produced gender-dependent effects. In females, LMS and BMS facilitated the development of behavioural sensitization, but in the LMS group this effect occurred faster, which may represent increased vulnerability to drug abuse. Moreover, LMS females showed higher basal CORT levels compared to BMS. In males, LMS and BMS increased the CORT response to EtOH but did not modify behavioural sensitization. Therefore, we postulate that LMS female mice exhibited a faster development of behavioural sensitization, but CORT levels were not involved with this effect.
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Herman M, Kang SS, Lee S, James P, Rivier C. Systemic Administration of Alcohol to Adult Rats Inhibits Leydig Cell Activity: Time Course of Effect and Role of Nitric Oxide. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2006; 30:1479-91. [PMID: 16930210 DOI: 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2006.00179.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Alcohol has been shown to interfere with testosterone (T) release from Leydig cells. However, the mechanisms responsible for this phenomenon, which may include decreased activity of the luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH)-LH axis, as well as a direct influence of the drug on the testes, are not fully understood. In this work, we investigated the influence of alcohol, administered intragastrically (i.g.) or delivered via vapors, on Leydig cell activity and T release. Leydig cell function was studied by measuring changes in the levels of the steroidogenic proteins steroidogenic acute regulatory (StAR), the peripheral-type benzodiazepine receptor (PBR), and the cytochrome P450 side-chain cleavage enzyme (P450scc). Testosterone release was studied under basal conditions or in response to human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). Finally, to identify potential factors mediating the influence of alcohol, we measured the testicular variant of the neuronal nitric oxide (NO) synthase (NOS), TnNOS, in semipurified Leydig cells. METHODS Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were either injected with alcohol i.g. once or exposed to alcohol vapors (4 h/d) for 1 or 5 days. Controls received the vehicle (i.g. model) or were kept in boxes through which no vapors were circulated. Following these treatments, one series of experiments was devoted to investigate Leydig cell responsiveness by measuring plasma T levels before or after the intravenous injection of hCG (1 U/kg). In another series of experiments, we used semipurified Leydig cell preparations to measure StAR, PBR, P450scc, and TnNOS by Western blot analysis. RESULTS In the i.g. model, the T response to hCG was blunted for 12 hours following alcohol injection, but showed a rebound at 48 hours. Levels of StAR protein and of PBR, but not of P450scc, were significantly decreased within 10 minutes of drug administration. While StAR then remained depressed for 24 hours, PBR values were variable over this time course. By 48 hours, StAR, PBR, and P450scc levels had increased above control values. Both StAR and PBR levels showed correlations with plasma T levels. In the alcohol vapor models, both regimens of the drug also significantly depressed StAR and PBR protein concentrations, blunted the T response to hCG, and did not alter P450scc. Finally, we observed that alcohol delivered i.g. or via vapors up-regulated TnNOS levels in Leydig cells, but that blockade of NO formation failed to restore a normal T response to hCG. CONCLUSIONS Collectively, these results suggest that (a) the ability of Leydig cells to release T does not show a simple correlation with changes in StAR, PBR, and P450scc levels; (b) the time course of the alcohol-induced changes were protein-specific; and (c) despite the ability of alcohol to stimulate TnNOS expression, NO does not appear to mediate the inhibitory influence of this drug on testicular steroidogenesis in the models that we studied.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa Herman
- Clayton Foundation Laboratories for Peptide Biology, The Salk Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, USA
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Sher L, Cooper TB, Mann JJ, Oquendo MA. Modified dexamethasone suppression-corticotropin-releasing hormone stimulation test: A pilot study of young healthy volunteers and implications for alcoholism research in adolescents and young adults. Int J Adolesc Med Health 2006; 18:133-7. [PMID: 16639867 DOI: 10.1515/ijamh.2006.18.1.133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
The key neuroendocrine component of a response to stress is the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) system. Abnormalities in the HPA system have been implicated in the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, alcoholism and suicide. The dexamethasone suppression test (DST) is the most frequently used test to assess HPA-system function in psychiatric disorders. This neuroendocrine test consists of the administration of a low dose of dexamethasone at 11 pm and the measurement of cortisol levels at one or more time points on the following day. After corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) became available for clinical studies, the DST was combined with CRH administration. In this test, patients are pretreated with a single dose of dexamethasone at 11 pm and receive human CRH intravenously at 3 pm the following day. The resulting DST-CRH test proved to be much more sensitive in detecting HPA system alterations than the DST. We have modified the DST-CRH test and used ovine CRH instead of human CRH in a pilot study of a group of young healthy volunteers. Results indicated that it produces results similar to the results obtained with human CRH. This suggests that ovine CRH can be used in psychiatric research. Alcoholism is associated with abnormalities in HPA function. Nonalcoholic subjects with a family history of alcoholism exhibit lower plasma ACTH and beta-endorphin as well as lower ACTH, cortisol, and beta-endorphin responses to psychological stress and CRH stimulation. This suggests that in children of alcoholics, alterations in the mechanisms that regulate HPA axis activity predate the development of alcohol dependence and may be considered inherited traits. Therefore, studies of the HPA system in persons at risk for alcoholism may help understand the neurobiological mechanisms of predisposition to alcoholism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leo Sher
- Division of Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA.
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Slawecki CJ, Ehlers CL. Enhanced prepulse inhibition following adolescent ethanol exposure in Sprague-Dawley rats. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2005; 29:1829-36. [PMID: 16269912 DOI: 10.1097/01.alc.0000183024.47167.27] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Recent studies have demonstrated that ethanol exposure differentially affects adolescents and adults. The current studies were designed to compare the effects of 2-week exposure to ethanol during adolescence or adulthood on the acoustic startle response (ASR) and prepulse inhibition (PPI) METHODS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to ethanol vapor 12 hr/d (on from 6 pm to 6 am) for 14 days during adolescence or adulthood. Six days after the cessation of ethanol vapor exposure, the ASR and PPI were assessed. RESULTS During ethanol treatment, overall blood alcohol levels averaged 230 to 250 mg/dl in the adolescent and adult treatment groups. Assessment of the ASR revealed that latency to startle was more rapid in adolescents than in adults, but ASR latency was not altered by ethanol exposure. In addition, ASR magnitude was lower in adolescents and was decreased in ethanol-exposed rats on startle trials. Ethanol exposure significantly enhanced PPI, but only after adolescent exposure CONCLUSIONS These data further demonstrate a differential sensitivity of adolescents and adults to the effects of ethanol exposure. Specifically, a 2-week period of ethanol exposure during adolescence selectively enhanced PPI, a neurobehavioral index of sensorimotor gating. However, ASR magnitude was decreased by ethanol exposure regardless of age. On the basis of previous studies, the effects of ethanol exposure on PPI data could indicate that adolescent rats exposed to ethanol are more likely to exhibit behavioral inflexibility and that ethanol exposure acts as a more potent physical stressor in adolescent rats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Craig J Slawecki
- Scripps Research Institute, Department of Neuropharmacology, La Jolla, California 92037, USA.
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Fish EW, DeBold JF, Miczek KA. Escalated aggression as a reward: corticosterone and GABA(A) receptor positive modulators in mice. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2005; 182:116-27. [PMID: 16133129 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-005-0064-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2005] [Accepted: 05/06/2005] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
RATIONALE Individuals seek out the opportunity to fight, but the mechanisms behind this positively reinforcing effect of aggression have yet to be understood. OBJECTIVES The aims of this study were to (1) describe behavioral and corticosterone elevations that occur in aggressive mice conditioned to respond for the opportunity to fight another mouse, (2) determine if corticosterone elevations are necessary for operant responding and escalated aggression, and (3) determine if corticosterone elevations alter the aggression-heightening effects of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)(A) receptor positive modulators. METHODS AND RESULTS Aggressive male CFW mice were conditioned to respond under the control of a fixed-interval 10-min (FI10) schedule that reinforced their operant behavior by the presentation of an intruder mouse into their home cage. After the FI10, aggressive behavior was ca. 75% higher than the species-typical levels of fighting and plasma corticosterone was more than twice as high after briefly fighting and/or responding on the FI10 schedule. Inhibition of corticosterone synthesis by metyrapone (30-100 mg/kg) reduced both conditioned responding as well as the aggressive behavior after the FI. Although the benzodiazepine midazolam (0.3-3 mg/kg) heightened species-typical aggressive behavior, it did not increase the high level of aggression engendered by the FI schedule. However, midazolam (0.3 mg/kg) and the neurosteroid allopregnanolone (17 mg/kg) both heightened aggression when given after corticosterone synthesis inhibition by metyrapone (56 mg/kg). CONCLUSIONS These data suggest that corticosterone elevations are required for responding that is motivated by aggressive behavior and for escalated aggression that follows this responding. Corticosterone elevations also appear to inhibit the aggression heightening effect of GABA(A) receptor positive modulators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric W Fish
- Department of Psychology, Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA.
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Haddad JJ. Alcoholism and neuro-immune-endocrine interactions: physiochemical aspects. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2004; 323:361-71. [PMID: 15369760 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2004.08.119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2004] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
The role of alcohol consumption and alcoholism as an addiction in regulating the chemistry of the brain and its physiology has gained a backlog of interest over the past few decades. Besides the notion that alcohol acts as a brain depressant, the molecular mechanisms and neuronal interactions are not well understood. Emerging evidence implicates alcohol as a neurochemical messenger that influences a cross talk amongst the nervous, immune, and endocrine systems. Specifically, alcohol acts as a crucial regulator of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, thereby modulating the release of hormones, particularly adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and corticosterone (CORT). It is the aim of this review, therefore, to investigate current concepts on how alcohol, particularly ethanol, and alcoholism affect neuro-immune-endocrine neurochemical interactions via the regulation of the HPA axis, taking into consideration bio-behavioral and physiochemical aspects.
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Affiliation(s)
- John J Haddad
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
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Lee S, Selvage D, Hansen K, Rivier C. Site of action of acute alcohol administration in stimulating the rat hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis: comparison between the effect of systemic and intracerebroventricular injection of this drug on pituitary and hypothalamic responses. Endocrinology 2004; 145:4470-9. [PMID: 15205375 DOI: 10.1210/en.2004-0110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
The peripheral injection of alcohol stimulates the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, but the ready penetration of this drug in most bodily compartments has made it difficult to identify its specific sites of action. Here we determined whether alcohol can directly influence the corticotropes. We first determined whether alcohol acted within the brain to stimulate neurons in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus, which synthesizes corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) and vasopressin (VP). To test this hypothesis, we injected alcohol intracerebroventricularly (icv; 5 microl of 200-proof; 86 micromol) and compared these results with those obtained after its ip administration (3.0 g/kg). Although not causing neuronal damage and not leading to detectable levels of the drug in the general circulation, icv alcohol significantly up-regulated PVN CRF heteronuclear RNA levels and increased plasma ACTH levels, a change comparable to the one observed in the ip model. To determine whether alcohol stimulated the corticotropes independently of CRF and/or VP, we injected the drug ip or icv and measured changes in anterior pituitary proopiomelanocortin (POMC) transcripts and ACTH release in the presence or absence of endogenous CRF and/or VP. Intracerebroventricular and ip alcohol significantly increased POMC primary transcript levels, measured by ribonuclease protection assay, over a time-course that corresponded to ACTH release. Both the POMC and the ACTH responses were completely abolished by removal of CRF and VP. Collectively, these results indicate that alcohol-induced activation of the corticotropes does not represent a direct influence of the drug on the pituitary but requires CRF and VP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soon Lee
- The Salk Institute, 10010 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, California 92037, USA
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Lee S, Rivier C. Long-term influence of an initial exposure to alcohol on the rat hypothalamic-pituitary axis. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2004; 27:1463-70. [PMID: 14506408 DOI: 10.1097/01.alc.0000086065.06203.dd] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE We have previously shown that adult male rats injected with alcohol daily for 3 consecutive days displayed a significantly blunted ACTH to a second alcohol injection, given 3 to 7 days later. The purpose of the present work was to determine the maximum duration over which the ACTH response remained blunted after an initial alcohol treatment. METHODS Male rats were exposed to alcohol (intragastrically or via vapors for 4 hr) on three consecutive days, starting when they were 22 (group A), 34 (group B), or 50 days old (group C). Control animals were injected with the vehicle intragastrically or kept in chambers through which normal air was circulated. At 60 days of age, the animals were injected with the vehicle or alcohol (4.5 g/kg intragastrically) to determine whether the initial treatment had long-term consequences on the ACTH response to a second alcohol challenge. RESULTS Rats of group C, pretreated with alcohol via intragastric injections or vapors, all exhibited a blunted ACTH response to the second acute alcohol challenge. In contrast, the second alcohol challenge only attenuated ACTH responses in rats of group B that had received intragastric injections, but not vapors. Group A showed a comparable response to acute intragastric alcohol injection at 60 days of age regardless of whether they had been preexposed to the drug. This was not due to a lack of neuroendocrine response because alcohol vapors significantly increased plasma ACTH levels and up-regulated paraventricular nucleus neuronal activity regardless of the age at which it was initially administered. CONCLUSIONS Repeated (daily for 3 consecutive days) administration of alcohol by the gastric route induces a long-lasting (up to 24 days) but not permanent blunting of the ACTH response to a second (acute) alcohol challenge. The fact that alcohol delivered by inhalation only caused a relatively brief (</=8 days) decrease in the ability of a second intragastric alcohol challenge to release ACTH suggests that the mode of alcohol delivery influences its long-term consequences.
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MESH Headings
- Administration, Inhalation
- Adrenocorticotropic Hormone/blood
- Age Factors
- Alcohol Drinking/pathology
- Alcohol Drinking/physiopathology
- Alcoholic Intoxication/pathology
- Alcoholic Intoxication/physiopathology
- Animals
- Animals, Newborn
- Autoradiography
- DNA-Binding Proteins/genetics
- Drug Administration Schedule
- Ethanol/administration & dosage
- Ethanol/blood
- Ethanol/toxicity
- Gene Expression/drug effects
- Genes, Immediate-Early/genetics
- Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System/drug effects
- Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System/pathology
- Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System/physiopathology
- In Situ Hybridization
- Injections, Intraperitoneal
- Male
- Neurons/drug effects
- Neurons/pathology
- Nuclear Receptor Subfamily 4, Group A, Member 1
- Paraventricular Hypothalamic Nucleus/drug effects
- Paraventricular Hypothalamic Nucleus/pathology
- Paraventricular Hypothalamic Nucleus/physiopathology
- RNA, Messenger/genetics
- Rats
- Rats, Sprague-Dawley
- Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear
- Receptors, Steroid
- Sexual Maturation/drug effects
- Transcription Factors/genetics
- Weaning
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Affiliation(s)
- Soon Lee
- Clayton Foundation Laboratories for Peptide Biology, The Salk Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
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Abstract
The concept of stress-relief by alcohol has led to many investigations in order to elucidate the mechanisms of interactions of stress and alcohol, and the stress-reducing effect of alcohol as a motivation for alcohol consumption. The hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) system is one of the biological systems affected by both stress and alcohol. However, there is a high individual variation in the response of the HPA axis to either stress or alcohol. Factors like quality, severity and duration of stress, dose of alcohol and frequency of stress or alcohol exposure add to the individual response to stress or alcohol. The individual response is determined by interactions of genetic, environmental and experiential factors. Facing that complexity, with even more factors to be named, the often reported inconsistencies in both human and animal studies are not only attributable to methodological differences. Nevertheless, there are studies showing an influence of stress on alcohol consumption which most likely depends on the sample of probands examined. To our view, the concept of stress-relief by alcohol as a basic motivation for developing alcohol drinking habits is only applicable to subgroups of drinkers. Individuals with a dysfunctional HPA axis, inherited and/or acquired, might represent such a subgroup of stress-motivated drinkers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Inge Sillaber
- Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany.
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Schmidt ED, Aguilera G, Binnekade R, Tilders FJH. Single administration of interleukin-1 increased corticotropin releasing hormone and corticotropin releasing hormone-receptor mRNA in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus which paralleled long-lasting (weeks) sensitization to emotional stressors. Neuroscience 2003; 116:275-83. [PMID: 12535959 DOI: 10.1016/s0306-4522(02)00555-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Single exposure to the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-1 induces sensitization of the adrenocorticotropin hormone and corticosterone responses to stressors weeks later (hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal sensitization). Hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal responses are controlled by corticotropin-releasing hormone and arginine-vasopressin secreted from parvocellular corticotropin-releasing hormone neurons of the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus and may involve autoexcitatory feedback mechanisms. Therefore, we studied the temporal relationship between resting levels of corticotropin-releasing hormone, corticotropin-releasing hormone-R1 and arginine-vasopressin receptor (V1a, V1b) mRNAs in the paraventricular nucleus and the development of hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal sensitization to an emotional stressor (novelty). The adrenocorticotropin hormone precursor molecule proopiomelanocortin hnRNA in the pituitary gland served as an index for acute activation. Single administration of interleukin-1 induced sensitization of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal to novelty from 3 to 22 days later, but not after 42 days. Single administration of interleukin-1 induced biphasic increases in corticotropin-releasing hormone and corticotropin-releasing hormone-R1 mRNAs in the paraventricular nucleus: an early peak within 24 h, followed by a delayed (>7 days) increase that peaked after 22 days. Hypothalamic V1a and V1b mRNA levels were unaffected. In contrast, in the pituitary gland, there was an early decrease in corticotropin-releasing hormone-R1 mRNA (from 10.5 to 3 h after interleukin-1) and V1b receptor mRNA (3 to 6 h), which returned to control levels from 24 h onwards. Thus, interleukin-1-induced long-lasting hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal sensitizations associated with prolonged activation of corticotropin-releasing hormone and corticotropin-releasing hormone-R1 mRNA expression in the paraventricular nucleus, but not with changes in the expression of proopiomelanocortin hnRNA or V1b receptor or corticotropin-releasing hormone R1 mRNAs in the pituitary gland. We propose that transient exposure to immune events can induce long-lasting hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal sensitization, which at least in part involves long-term hypothalamic adaptations that enhance central corticotropin-releasing hormone signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- E D Schmidt
- Graduate School Neurosciences Amsterdam, Research Institute Neurosciences Vrije Universiteit, Medical Pharmacology, VUmc, Van der Boechorststraat 7, Amsterdam 10 81 BT, The Netherlands.
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Lee S, Blanton CA, Rivier C. Prenatal Ethanol Exposure Alters the Responsiveness of the Rat Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis to Nitric Oxide. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2003. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2003.tb04421.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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48
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Crankshaw DL, Briggs JE, Olszewski PK, Shi Q, Grace MK, Billington CJ, Levine AS. Effects of intracerebroventricular ethanol on ingestive behavior and induction of c-Fos immunoreactivity in selected brain regions. Physiol Behav 2003; 79:113-20. [PMID: 12818716 DOI: 10.1016/s0031-9384(03)00111-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
The early changes in the central nervous system (CNS) following drinking of ethanol (ETOH) are poorly understood. It is known that chronic intracerebroventricular (ICV) administration of ethanol to rats induces preference for imbibed alcohol solutions. These results suggest that ICV ethanol could alter taste preference. In the present study, we tested whether ETOH[ICV] could induce a conditioned taste preference (CTP) or aversion (CTA) and alter c-Fos immunoreactivity (c-Fos-IR) in brain regions associated with feeding, aversion, and/or reward. Acute ETOH[ICV], as tested in the ETOH-naïve rat, did not induce CTA nor affect the amount of water imbibed by treated rats. The effects of ETOH[ICV] on intake and preference were determined using a novel palatable (i.e. sweet) noncaloric 0.1% saccharin solution. A single dose of ETOH[ICV] in the ETOH-nai;ve animal induced a CTP for saccharin. ETOH[ICV] significantly increased c-Fos-IR in a number of brain sites associated with feeding and reward including the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, lateral dorsal area (BSTLD); nucleus accumbens, shell area (AcbSh); hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN); and lateral septum, ventral area (LSV). Thus, ETOH induced a CTP, not CTA, via central mechanisms; it increased c-Fos-IR in specific sites associated with feeding and reward.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daune L Crankshaw
- Department of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, St Paul, MN 55108, USA
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Silva SM, Paula-Barbosa MM, Madeira MD. Prolonged alcohol intake leads to reversible depression of corticotropin-releasing hormone and vasopressin immunoreactivity and mRNA levels in the parvocellular neurons of the paraventricular nucleus. Brain Res 2002; 954:82-93. [PMID: 12393236 DOI: 10.1016/s0006-8993(02)03346-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
The ability of alcohol to activate the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is well documented in investigations based in acute and short-term experimental paradigms. Herein, we have addressed the possibility that the prolonged exposure to ethanol concentrations that are initially effective in stimulating corticosteroid secretion might induce alterations in the response of the HPA axis that cannot be evinced by shorter exposures. Using conventional histological techniques, immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization, we have examined the medial parvocellular division of the paraventricular nucleus (PVNmp), and the synthesis and expression of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and vasopressin (VP) by its constituent neurons, in rats submitted to 6 months of ethanol treatment and to withdrawal (2 months after 6 months of alcohol intake). Ethanol treatment and withdrawal did not produce neuronal loss in the PVNmp. However, the total number of CRH- and VP-immunoreactive neurons and the CRH mRNA levels were significantly decreased by ethanol treatment. In withdrawn rats, the number of CRH- and VP-immunostained neurons and the gene expression of CRH were increased relative to ethanol-treated rats and did not differ from those of controls. No significant variations were detected in VP mRNA levels as a result of ethanol treatment or withdrawal. These results show that prolonged alcohol intake blunts the expression of CRH and VP in the parvocellular neurons of the PVN, and that this effect is, partially at least, reversible by withdrawal. They also suggest that the development of tolerance to the effects of ethanol involve changes that take place at the hypothalamic level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susana M Silva
- Department of Anatomy, Porto Medical School, Alameda Hernâni Monteiro, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal
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50
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Li X, DePetrillo PB. Corticosterone increases serotonin type-3 receptor mRNA in rat pheochromocytoma-12 cells. Neurosci Lett 2002; 331:143-5. [PMID: 12361860 DOI: 10.1016/s0304-3940(02)00870-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Serotonin type-3 (5-HT3) receptors are cation permeable membrane receptors which are involved in modulation of calcium entry in neuronal cells. Along with other ion-channels such as the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor, it appears to be a target for the actions of ethanol and has been the focus of considerable work in this regard. Since in animals, ethanol exposure results in elevations of corticosteroids in both acute and chronic conditions, we studied the effects of both ethanol and corticosteroid exposure on 5-HT3 gene expression in an in situ pheochromocytoma-12 (PC12) cell model. We found that ethanol exposure alone (80 mMx4 days) did not significantly alter target gene expression. Corticosterone (CORT) (50, 150, and 300 ng/ml) resulted in significant increases in 5-HT3 expression which were attenuated by mifeprestone (50 ng/ml). Ethanol in combination with CORT did not significantly alter the increase in 5- HT3 mRNA seen with CORT alone. We conclude that in PC12 cells, exposure to CORT at physiologically relevant concentrations increases 5-HT3 gene expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- XuanWen Li
- Division of Intramural Clinical and Biochemical Research, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH 10/ 3C103, 10 Center Drive, MSC 1256, MD Bethesda 20892-1256, USA
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