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Malone SG, Tavakoli NS, Keller PS, Bardo MT, Ortinski PI. Calcium imaging of central amygdala activity after escalation of fentanyl self-administration. Neuropharmacology 2025; 271:110370. [PMID: 39988277 PMCID: PMC11930605 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2025.110370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2024] [Revised: 02/10/2025] [Accepted: 02/13/2025] [Indexed: 02/25/2025]
Abstract
The central amygdala (CeA) is involved in opioid relapse-associated behaviors. This study determined if escalation of fentanyl intake as modeled by long-access (LgA) self-administration (SA) alters ex vivo neuronal activity in CeA in response to fentanyl during acute withdrawal and protracted abstinence. Adult male and female Sprague-Dawley rats were trained to self-administer fentanyl or saline across 7 daily 1-h short access (ShA) sessions, followed by 21 6-h long access (LgA) sessions. Following acute (17 h) or protracted (30 days) withdrawal, withdrawal signs were assessed and rats were euthanized for CeA calcium imaging in brain slices. Fentanyl rats demonstrated reduced basal frequency of activity after 30 days withdrawal, but not after 17 h withdrawal. Regardless of SA group, acute fentanyl application in slices reduced activity (frequency, duration, active cell number) of CeA neurons. In acute withdrawal, the magnitude to which acute fentanyl suppressed CeA neuronal activity was smaller in fentanyl SA rats, relative to saline SA controls. However, the magnitude of acute fentanyl effect on suppression of CeA activity was greater in fentanyl SA rats (vs. saline SA controls) after protracted abstinence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha G Malone
- University of Kentucky, Department of Psychology, Lexington, KY, USA
| | - Navid S Tavakoli
- University of Kentucky, Department of Neuroscience, Lexington, KY, USA
| | - Peggy S Keller
- University of Kentucky, Department of Psychology, Lexington, KY, USA
| | - Michael T Bardo
- University of Kentucky, Department of Psychology, Lexington, KY, USA
| | - Pavel I Ortinski
- University of Kentucky, Department of Neuroscience, Lexington, KY, USA.
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2
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De Almeida SS, Drinkuth CR, Sartor GC. Comparing withdrawal- and anxiety-like behaviors following oral and subcutaneous oxycodone administration in C57BL/6 mice. Behav Pharmacol 2024; 35:269-279. [PMID: 38847447 PMCID: PMC11226370 DOI: 10.1097/fbp.0000000000000780] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/06/2024]
Abstract
Excessive prescribing and misuse of prescription opioids, such as oxycodone, significantly contributed to the current opioid crisis. Although oxycodone is typically consumed orally by humans, parenteral routes of administration have primarily been used in preclinical models of oxycodone dependence. To address this issue, more recent studies have used oral self-administration procedures to study oxycodone seeking and withdrawal in rodents. Behavioral differences, however, following oral oxycodone intake versus parenteral oxycodone administration remain unclear. Thus, the goal of the current studies was to compare anxiety- and withdrawal-like behaviors using established opioid dependence models of either home cage oral intake of oxycodone (0.5 mg/ml) or repeated subcutaneous (s.c.) injections of oxycodone (10 mg/kg) in male and female mice. Here, mice received 10 days of oral or s.c. oxycodone administration, and following 72 h of forced abstinence, anxiety- and withdrawal-like behaviors were measured using elevated zero maze, open field, and naloxone-induced precipitated withdrawal procedures. Global withdrawal scores were increased to a similar degree following oral and s.c. oxycodone use, while both routes of oxycodone administration had minimal effects on anxiety-like behaviors. When examining individual withdrawal-like behaviors, mice receiving s.c. oxycodone exhibited more paw tremors and jumps during naloxone-induced precipitated withdrawal compared with oral oxycodone mice. These results indicate that both models of oxycodone administration are sufficient to elevate global withdrawal scores, but, when compared with oral consumption, s.c. oxycodone injections yielded more pronounced effects on some withdrawal-like behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Gregory C. Sartor
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Institute for the Brain and Cognitive Sciences (IBACS), University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269
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3
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Ahmadi-Soleimani SM, Salmanzadeh H, Azizi H. Experimental Evidence on Age-related Differential Outcomes Associated With Substance Abuse. Basic Clin Neurosci 2024; 15:27-36. [PMID: 39291086 PMCID: PMC11403104 DOI: 10.32598/bcn.2023.587.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2023] [Revised: 08/08/2023] [Accepted: 08/09/2023] [Indexed: 09/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Growing evidence indicates that adolescent substance abuse is now an alarming concern that imposes a considerable socio-economic burden on societies. On the other hand, numerous studies have shown that due to specific neurophysiological features, the brain is more vulnerable to the adverse effects of psychoactive drugs at an early age. Unfortunately, these negative effects are not limited to the period of drug use, but can persistently affect the brain's responsiveness to future exposures to the same or other types of drug. For researchers to develop pharmacological strategies for managing substance abuse disorders, they need to gain a deep understanding of the differences in behavioral outcomes associated with each type of drug across different age groups. The present study was conducted to review the experimental evidence revealing the mentioned differential effects with an emphasis on common drugs of abuse, including cocaine, nicotine, cannabis, and opioids. Although the cellular mechanisms underlying age-related effects have not been exclusively addressed for each drug, the most recent results are presented and discussed. Future studies are required to focus on these mechanisms and reveal how molecular changes during brain development can result in differential responses to drugs at the behavioral level.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Mohammad Ahmadi-Soleimani
- Departments of Physiology, Neuroscience Research Center, School of Medicine, Torbat Heydariyeh University of Medical Sciences, Torbat Heydariyeh, Iran
| | - Hamed Salmanzadeh
- TJ Long School of Pharmacy, University of the Pacific, Stockton, The United States
| | - Hossein Azizi
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
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4
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Abstract
The over-prescription of opioid analgesics is a growing problem in the field of addiction, which has reached epidemic-like proportions in North America. Over the past decade, oxycodone has gained attention as the leading opioid responsible for the North America opioid crisis. Oxycodone is the most incriminated drug in the early years of the epidemic of opioid use disorder in USA (roughly 1999-2016). The number of preclinical articles on oxycodone is rapidly increasing. Several publications have already compared oxycodone with other opioids, focusing mainly on their analgesic properties. The aim of this review is to focus on the genomic and epigenetic regulatory features of oxycodone compared with other opioid agonists. Our aim is to initiate a discussion of perceptible differences in the pharmacological response observed with these various opioids, particularly after repeated administration in preclinical models commonly used to study drug dependence potential.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Florence Noble
- Université Paris Cité, CNRS, Inserm, Pharmacologie et Thérapies des Addictions, Paris, France
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Armstrong C, Ferrante J, Lamichhane N, Reavis Z, Walker D, Patkar A, Kuhn C. Rapastinel accelerates loss of withdrawal signs after repeated morphine and blunts relapse to conditioned place preference. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2022; 221:173485. [PMID: 36302442 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2022.173485] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2022] [Revised: 10/18/2022] [Accepted: 10/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of rapastinel, an allosteric modulator of NMDA receptor function, to accelerate the loss of opioid withdrawal symptoms and blunt or prevent relapse to morphine conditioned place preference (CPP) in rats. Two studies were conducted. In study 1, adult and adolescent male and female rats were treated with increasing doses of morphine (5 mg/kg, bid to 25 mg/kg bid) for 5 days. On day 6 animals were treated with naloxone (1 mg/kg) and withdrawal was assessed. They were then treated with saline or rapastinel (5 mg/kg) on days 6 and 8, and withdrawal was assessed on day 9. Rapastinel treated animals exhibited significantly lower levels of withdrawal signs on day 9. No sex or age differences were observed. In Study 2, CPP for morphine was established in adult rats (males and females) by 4 daily pairings with saline and morphine (am/pm alternation). They were tested for CPP on day 5, and then treated with rapastinel (5 mg/kg) or saline daily on days 6-10 of extinction. On day 11 they received a final dose of rapastinel or saline followed by extinction trial. On day 12, animals received 1 mg/kg of morphine and were tested for relapse. Rapastinel did not affect extinction of CPP, but rapastinel-treated animals spent significantly less time in the previously morphine-paired side than saline-treated animals during the relapse trial. These findings of accelerated loss of withdrawal signs and blunted relapse to CPP suggest that rapastinel could provide an adjunctive therapy for opioid dependence during initiation of pharmacotherapy for opioid dependence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Armstrong
- Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, United States of America
| | - Julia Ferrante
- Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, United States of America; Department of Psychiatry, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, United States of America
| | - Nidesh Lamichhane
- Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, United States of America; Department of Psychiatry, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, United States of America
| | - Zachery Reavis
- Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, United States of America; Department of Psychiatry, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, United States of America
| | - David Walker
- Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, United States of America; Department of Psychiatry, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, United States of America
| | - Ashwin Patkar
- Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, United States of America; Department of Psychiatry, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, United States of America; Avance Psychiatry, 7850 Brier Creek Pkwy, Ste. 102, Raleigh, NC 27617, United States of America
| | - Cynthia Kuhn
- Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, United States of America; Department of Psychiatry, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, United States of America.
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Nguyen JD, Grant Y, Taffe MA. Paradoxical changes in brain reward status during oxycodone self-administration in a novel test of the negative reinforcement hypothesis. Br J Pharmacol 2021; 178:3797-3812. [PMID: 33948939 PMCID: PMC8387405 DOI: 10.1111/bph.15520] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2021] [Revised: 04/18/2021] [Accepted: 04/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The extra medical use of, and addiction to, prescription opioid analgesics is a growing health problem. To characterize how prescription opioid abuse develops, this study investigated the affective consequences of escalating prescription opioid use using intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS) reward and oxycodone intravenous self-administration (IVSA) models. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH Male Wistar rats were given access to oxycodone IVSA (0.15 mg·kg-1 per infusion, i.v.) in short-access (ShA; 1 h) or long-access (LgA; 12 h) sessions for five sessions per week followed by intermittent 60-h discontinuations from drug access, a novel explicit test of the negative reinforcement hypothesis. Separate groups were first trained in the ICSS procedure and then in oxycodone IVSA in 11-h LgA sessions. KEY RESULTS Rats given LgA to oxycodone escalated their responding more than ShA rats, with further significant increases observed following each 60-h discontinuation. Presession brain reward thresholds increased with sequential daily LgA IVSA sessions, consistent with a growing negative affective state consequent to successive daily intoxication/abstinence cycles. A 1-h oxycodone IVSA interval was sufficient to normalize these elevated reward thresholds, as was, paradoxically, a 60-h weekend abstinence. The increase in ICSS thresholds was attenuated in a group treated with the long-acting κ-opioid antagonist norbinaltorphimine prior to IVSA training. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS Changes in brain reward function during escalation of oxycodone self-administration are driven by an interplay between κ-opioid receptor-mediated negative affective state associated with escalated oxycodone intake and dynamic restoration of brain reward status during longer periods of abstinence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacques D. Nguyen
- Department of Neuroscience, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA USA
| | - Yanabel Grant
- Department of Neuroscience, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA USA
| | - Michael A. Taffe
- Department of Neuroscience, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA USA
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7
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Zhang Y, Kreek MJ. Nalfurafine modulates the reinforcing effects of oxycodone in male and female adolescent C57BL/6J mice. Neuropharmacology 2020; 176:108244. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2020.108244] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2019] [Revised: 07/01/2020] [Accepted: 07/14/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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8
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Windisch KA, Kreek MJ. Review of addiction risk potential associated with adolescent opioid use. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2020; 198:173022. [PMID: 32871141 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2020.173022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2020] [Revised: 08/18/2020] [Accepted: 08/26/2020] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Adolescence is a critical period of development with robust behavioral, morphological, hormonal, and neurochemical changes including changes in brain regions implicated in the reinforcing effects of drugs such as opioids. Here we examine the preclinical and, where appropriate complementary clinical literature, for the behavioral and neurological changes induced by adolescent opioid exposure/use and their long-term consequences during adulthood. Adolescent opioid exposure results in a widened biphasic shift in reinforcement with increased impact of positive rewarding aspects during initial use and profound negative reinforcement during adulthood. Females may have enhanced vulnerability due to fast onset of antinociceptive tolerance and reduced severity of somatic withdrawal symptoms during adolescence. Overall, adolescent opioid exposure, be it legally prescribed protracted intake or illicit consumption, results in significant and prolonged consequences of increased opioid reward concomitant with reduced analgesic efficacy and exacerbated somatic withdrawal severity during opioid use/exposure in adulthood. These findings are highly relevant to physicians, parents, law makers, and the general public as adolescent opioid exposure/misuse results in heightened risk for substance use disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle A Windisch
- 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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9
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Salmanzadeh H, Ahmadi-Soleimani SM, Pachenari N, Azadi M, Halliwell RF, Rubino T, Azizi H. Adolescent drug exposure: A review of evidence for the development of persistent changes in brain function. Brain Res Bull 2020; 156:105-117. [PMID: 31926303 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2020.01.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2019] [Revised: 12/28/2019] [Accepted: 01/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Over the past decade, many studies have indicated that adolescence is a critical period of brain development and maturation. The refinement and maturation of the central nervous system over this prolonged period, however, makes the adolescent brain highly susceptible to perturbations from acute and chronic drug exposure. Here we review the preclinical literature addressing the long-term consequences of adolescent exposure to common recreational drugs and drugs-of-abuse. These studies on adolescent exposure to alcohol, nicotine, opioids, cannabinoids and psychostimulant drugs, such as cocaine and amphetamine, reveal a variety of long-lasting behavioral and neurobiological consequences. These agents can affect development of the prefrontal cortex and mesolimbic dopamine pathways and modify the reward systems, socio-emotional processing and cognition. Other consequences include disruption in working memory, anxiety disorders and an increased risk of subsequent drug abuse in adult life. Although preventive and control policies are a valuable approach to reduce the detrimental effects of drugs-of-abuse on the adolescent brain, a more profound understanding of their neurobiological impact can lead to improved strategies for the treatment and attenuation of the detrimental neuropsychiatric sequelae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hamed Salmanzadeh
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran; TJ Long School of Pharmacy & Health Sciences, University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA, USA
| | | | - Narges Pachenari
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Maryam Azadi
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Robert F Halliwell
- TJ Long School of Pharmacy & Health Sciences, University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA, USA
| | - Tiziana Rubino
- Department of Biotechnology and Life Sciences, University of Insubria, Busto Arsizio, VA, Italy
| | - Hossein Azizi
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
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10
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Morphine-induced conditioned place preference and effects of morphine pre-exposure in adolescent and adult male C57BL/6J mice. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2016; 233:2015-2024. [PMID: 25066361 PMCID: PMC4310826 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-014-3695-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2014] [Accepted: 07/11/2014] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
RATIONALE Given the increasing abuse of prescription opioids, particularly in adolescents, surprisingly few preclinical studies have explored effects of opioids in adolescents (versus adults). OBJECTIVES This study compared the conditioned rewarding effects of morphine, without (experiment 1) and with morphine pre-exposure (experiment 2), in adolescent and adult male mice. METHODS Experiment 1: On each of three consecutive days, one of the two conditioning sessions was preceded by an injection of a particular dose of morphine (0.1, 0.32, 1, 3.2, 10, 32, or 100 mg/kg, intraperitoneal) and the other by saline; place preference was tested on day 4. Experiment 2: Mice received once daily injections of saline or a particular dose of morphine (17.8 or 56 mg/kg) for 4 days, and 3 days later, place conditioning with morphine (0.32, 1, 3.2, or 10 mg/kg) began. RESULTS In both experiments, morphine induced conditioned place preference along similar inverted U-shaped dose-response curves in adolescent and adult mice, with maximal effects between 0.32 and 10 mg/kg. Morphine pre-exposure did not sensitize morphine-induced conditioned place preference; instead, tolerance occurred, but only in adults. Adolescents were more sensitive than adults to morphine-induced locomotor stimulation. Response to novelty predicted the locomotor stimulating effects of morphine in adolescents, but not its rewarding effects. CONCLUSIONS The rewarding effects of morphine were similar in adolescent and adult mice but showed differential tolerance after morphine pre-exposure. Adolescents were more sensitive than adults to the acute locomotor stimulating effects of morphine, consistent with dopamine systems involved in locomotor activity being overactive during adolescence.
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11
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Kuhn C. Emergence of sex differences in the development of substance use and abuse during adolescence. Pharmacol Ther 2015; 153:55-78. [PMID: 26049025 DOI: 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2015.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 124] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2015] [Accepted: 04/29/2015] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Substance use and abuse begin during adolescence. Male and female adolescent humans initiate use at comparable rates, but males increase use faster. In adulthood, more men than women use and abuse addictive drugs. However, some women progress more rapidly from initiation of use to entry into treatment. In animal models, adolescent males and females consume addictive drugs similarly. However, reproductively mature females acquire self-administration faster, and in some models, escalate use more. Sex/gender differences exist in neurobiologic factors mediating both reinforcement (dopamine, opioids) and aversiveness (CRF, dynorphin), as well as intrinsic factors (personality, psychiatric co-morbidities) and extrinsic factors (history of abuse, environment especially peers and family) which influence the progression from initial use to abuse. Many of these important differences emerge during adolescence, and are moderated by sexual differentiation of the brain. Estradiol effects which enhance both dopaminergic and CRF-mediated processes contribute to the female vulnerability to substance use and abuse. Testosterone enhances impulsivity and sensation seeking in both males and females. Several protective factors in females also influence initiation and progression of substance use including hormonal changes of pregnancy as well as greater capacity for self-regulation and lower peak levels of impulsivity/sensation seeking. Same sex peers represent a risk factor more for males than females during adolescence, while romantic partners increase risk for women during this developmental epoch. In summary, biologic factors, psychiatric co-morbidities as well as personality and environment present sex/gender-specific risks as adolescents begin to initiate substance use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cynthia Kuhn
- Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Box 3813, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, United States.
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12
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Shahraki MR, Mirshekari H, Sabri A. Aloe vera Aqueous Extract Effect on Morphine Withdrawal Syndrome in Morphine-Dependent Female Rats. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HIGH RISK BEHAVIORS & ADDICTION 2014; 3:e11358. [PMID: 25593890 PMCID: PMC4286921 DOI: 10.5812/ijhrba.11358] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2013] [Revised: 11/12/2013] [Accepted: 05/25/2014] [Indexed: 04/13/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Aloe vera is a medicinal herb used as an anti-inflammatory and sedative agent. OBJECTIVES The current study aimed to evaluate the effect of Aloe vera aqueous extract on morphine withdrawal symptoms in morphine-dependent female rats. PATIENTS AND METHODS The current research was performed on 40 female Wista-Albino rats which were made dependent on morphine using Houshyar protocol and were randomly divided into five groups (A, B, C, D, and E). Group A did not receive any agent in the period of handling but other groups (B, C, D and E) received 5, 10, 20 and 40 mg/kg of Aloe vera aqueous extract by gavage, three times daily for a week, respectively. Withdrawal symptoms, stool form, agitation, disparity, floppy eyelids, and body mass variations were checked for 10 days. The obtained data were analyzed using SPSS v.11 software, and Friedman, Kruskal-Wallis, and Mann-Whitney statistical tests. Statistical difference was considered significant (P < 0.05). RESULTS The results of the present study showed that agitation, disparity, and floppy eyelids in group E were significantly higher than those of others groups; however, these symptoms in group C were significantly lower than those of the other groups. CONCLUSIONS The results of the present study revealed that the Aloe vera aqueous extract had various effects on morphine withdrawal syndrome in morphine-dependent female rats .
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad Reza Shahraki
- Department of Physiology, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, IR Iran
- Corresponding author: Mohammad Reza Shahraki, Department of Physiology, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, IR Iran. Tel: +98-5413414552-5, Fax: +98-5413414563, E-mail:
| | - Hamideh Mirshekari
- Zahedan Health Center, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, IR Iran
| | - Azame Sabri
- Mashhad Health Service Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, IR Iran
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Imeh-Nathaniel A, Okon M, Huber R, Nathaniel TI. Exploratory behavior and withdrawal signs in Crayfish: Chronic central morphine injections and termination effects. Behav Brain Res 2014; 264:181-7. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2014.01.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2013] [Revised: 01/16/2014] [Accepted: 01/20/2014] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
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14
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Effects of repeated exposure to morphine in adolescent and adult male C57BL/6J mice: age-dependent differences in locomotor stimulation, sensitization, and body weight loss. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2014; 231:1517-29. [PMID: 24096538 PMCID: PMC3969384 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-013-3298-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2013] [Accepted: 09/11/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Given evidence for age-related differences in the effects of drugs of abuse, surprisingly few preclinical studies have explored effects of opioids in adolescents (versus adults). OBJECTIVES This study compared the motor stimulating and ataxic effects of repeatedly administered morphine in adolescent, late adolescent, and adult mice. METHODS Mice were treated with saline or morphine (10-100 mg/kg, i.p.) once per day for 4 days, and morphine (3.2-56 mg/kg)-induced locomotion was assessed 3 days or 5 weeks later. Different mice were treated repeatedly with morphine and ataxia was measured. RESULTS Acute administration of morphine increased locomotion more in adolescents than in adults. Repeated morphine enhanced morphine-induced locomotion, assessed 3 days later, to a similar extent in each age group (minimum effective dose 17.8 mg/kg). This sensitization was still evident 5 weeks later when the adolescents had become adult, but was smaller and occurred at a higher dose (56 mg/kg). In animals treated repeatedly with morphine as adults, sensitization was no longer apparent 5 weeks later. Intermittent morphine was at least 10-fold less potent to produce body weight loss in adolescents than in adults. Repeated morphine did not alter morphine-induced ataxia at any age. CONCLUSIONS Compared with adults, adolescents were more sensitive to the acute locomotor stimulating effects of morphine and to its long-lasting locomotor sensitizing effects, consistent with overactivity of dopamine systems during adolescence. In contrast, adolescents were less sensitive than adults to body weight loss induced by intermittent morphine, an effect indicative of morphine withdrawal in adult rodents.
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A role for the prefrontal cortex in heroin-seeking after forced abstinence by adult male rats but not adolescents. Neuropsychopharmacology 2013; 38:446-54. [PMID: 23072838 PMCID: PMC3547195 DOI: 10.1038/npp.2012.200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Adolescent drug abuse is hypothesized to increase the risk of drug addiction. Yet male rats that self-administer heroin as adolescents show attenuated drug-seeking after abstinence, compared with adults. Here we explore a role for neural activity in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in age-dependent heroin-seeking. Adolescent (35-day-old at start; adolescent-onset) and adult (86-day-old at start) male rats acquired lever-pressing maintained by heroin using a fixed ratio one reinforcement schedule (0.05 and 0.025 mg/kg per infusion). Following 12 days of forced abstinence, rats were tested for heroin-seeking over 1 h by measuring the number of lever presses on the active lever. Unbiased stereology was then used to estimate the number of Fos-ir(+) and Fos-ir(-) neurons in prelimbic and infralimbic mPFC. As before, adolescents and adults self-administered similar amounts of heroin, but subsequent heroin-seeking was attenuated in the younger rats. Similarly, the adolescent-onset group failed to show significant neural activation in the prelimbic or infralimbic mPFC during the heroin-seeking test, whereas the adult-onset heroin self-administration group showed two to six times more Fos-ir(+) neurons than their saline counterparts in both mPFC subregions. Finally, the overall number of neurons in the infralimbic cortex was greater in rats from the adolescent-onset groups than adults. The mPFC may thus have a key role in some age-dependent effects of heroin self-administration.
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