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Razavinasab M, Parsania S, Nikootalab M, Khaleghi M, Saleki K, Banazadeh M, Shabani M. Early environmental enrichment prevents cognitive impairments and developing addictive behaviours in a mouse model of prenatal psychological and physical stress. Int J Dev Neurosci 2022; 82:72-84. [PMID: 34845740 DOI: 10.1002/jdn.10161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2021] [Revised: 11/05/2021] [Accepted: 11/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Environmental enrichment (EE) has shown remarkable effects in improving cognition and addictive behaviour. We tested whether EE could help recover from prenatal stress exposure. Mature Swiss Webster male and virgin female mice were placed together until vaginal plugs were detectable. Next, pregnant rodents were randomized into the control, physically and psychologically stressed groups. The application of stress was initiated on the 10th day of pregnancy and persisted for a week to induce stress in the mice. Open field and elevated plus-maze (EPM) tests were utilized as explorative and anxiety assays, respectively. A passive avoidance shuttle-box test was carried out to check anxiety-modulated behaviour. Morris water maze (MWM) test was undertaken to evaluate spatial learning and memory. Conditioned place preference (CPP) test was selected for evaluation of tendency to morphine consumption. Our results showed that prenatal stress elevated anxiety-like behaviour in the offspring which EE could significantly alleviate after weaning. We also found a higher preference for morphine use in the physical stress and psychological stress offspring group. However, no difference was observed among the genders. Application of EE for the stress group improved several parameters of the cognitive behaviour significantly. Although prenatal stress can lead to detrimental behavioural and cognitive outcomes, it can in part be relieved by early exposure to EE. However, some outcomes linked to prenatal stress exposure may not be diminished by EE therapy. In light of such irreversible effects, large-scale preventive actions promoting avoidance from stress during pregnancy should be advised.
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Affiliation(s)
- Moazamehosadat Razavinasab
- Neuroscience Research Center, Neuropharmacology Institute, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
| | - Shahnaz Parsania
- Neuroscience Research Center, Neuropharmacology Institute, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
| | - Mahdi Nikootalab
- Neuroscience Research Center, Neuropharmacology Institute, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
| | - Mina Khaleghi
- Department of Physiology, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
| | - Kiarash Saleki
- Student Research Committee, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran
- USERN Office, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran
| | - Mohammad Banazadeh
- Pharmaceutical Sciences and Cosmetic Products Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
| | - Mohammad Shabani
- Neuroscience Research Center, Neuropharmacology Institute, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
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2
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Juvenile stress increases cocaine-induced impulsivity in female rats. Behav Brain Res 2021; 414:113488. [PMID: 34329670 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2021.113488] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2021] [Revised: 07/20/2021] [Accepted: 07/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
In humans, adverse childhood experiences are associated with an increased risk of developing a neuropsychiatric disorder. Changes in social behavior and cognitive function are hallmarks of numerous neuropsychiatric disorders. Here we examined the effects of exposure to variable stress during the juvenile period on social behavior, reward, and cognitive function (as measured in the 5-choice serial reaction time task (5CSRTT)) in rats. From postnatal days (PND) 25-29 male and female rats were exposed to a variable stress protocol. In adulthood, social interactions and sucrose preference were assessed prior to training on the 5CSRTT. Once successfully trained, rats were challenged with different task versions, and then the effects of cocaine (0, 10, or 20 mg/kg, IP) on performance were assessed. A follow-up experiment examined the ability of the D2 receptor antagonist eticlopride (0.0, 0.025, 0.05 mg/kg, IP) to block the effects of cocaine on 5CSRTT performance in female rats. Male rats exposed to juvenile stress tended to engage in less social behavior and had an increased correct response latency in the 5CSRTT following cocaine administration. Female rats exposed to juvenile stress exhibited a trend towards increased social behavior and demonstrated increased cocaine-induced impulsivity. The increase in impulsivity was not blocked by co-administration of eticlopride. Juvenile stress had minimal effects on adult behavior in male rats, but increased cocaine-induced impulsivity in female rats. Such an effect could contribute to the enhanced escalation of drug-use observed in females that experience juvenile stress. This possibility awaits further testing.
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Quigley JA, Logsdon MK, Turner CA, Gonzalez IL, Leonardo NB, Becker JB. Sex differences in vulnerability to addiction. Neuropharmacology 2021; 187:108491. [PMID: 33567305 PMCID: PMC7979496 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2021.108491] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2020] [Revised: 01/27/2021] [Accepted: 02/04/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
This article reviews evidence for sex differences in vulnerability to addiction with an emphasis on the neural mechanisms underlying these differences. Sex differences in the way that the gonadal hormone, estradiol, interacts with the ascending telencephalic dopamine system results in sex differences in motivated behaviors, including drug-seeking. In rodents, repeated psychostimulant exposure enhances incentive sensitization to a greater extent in females than males. Estradiol increases females' motivation to attain psychostimulants and enhances the value of drug related cues, which ultimately increases their susceptibility towards spontaneous relapse. This, along with females' dampened ability to alter decisions regarding risky behaviors, enhances their vulnerability for escalation of drug use. In males, recent evidence suggests that estradiol may be protective against susceptibility towards drug-preference. Sex differences in the actions of estradiol are reviewed to provide a foundation for understanding how future research might enhance understanding of the mechanisms of sex differences in addiction-related behaviors, which are dependent on estradiol receptor (ER) subtype and the region of the brain they are acting in. A comprehensive review of the distribution of ERα, ERβ, and GPER1 throughout the rodent brain are provided along with a discussion of the possible ways in which these patterns differentially regulate drug-taking between the sexes. The article concludes with a brief discussion of the actions of gonadal hormones on the circuitry of the stress system, including the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis and regulation of corticotropin-releasing factor. Sex differences in the stress system can also contribute to females' enhanced vulnerability towards addiction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacqueline A Quigley
- Psychology Department, Ann Arbor MI, 48109 USA; Michigan Neuroscience Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor MI, 48109 USA
| | - Molly K Logsdon
- Michigan Neuroscience Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor MI, 48109 USA
| | - Christopher A Turner
- Psychology Department, Ann Arbor MI, 48109 USA; Michigan Neuroscience Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor MI, 48109 USA
| | - Ivette L Gonzalez
- Psychology Department, Ann Arbor MI, 48109 USA; Michigan Neuroscience Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor MI, 48109 USA
| | - N B Leonardo
- Michigan Neuroscience Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor MI, 48109 USA
| | - Jill B Becker
- Psychology Department, Ann Arbor MI, 48109 USA; Michigan Neuroscience Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor MI, 48109 USA.
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4
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Stratilov VA, Tyulkova EI, Vetrovoy OV. Prenatal Stress as a Factor of the
Development of Addictive States. J EVOL BIOCHEM PHYS+ 2020. [DOI: 10.1134/s0022093020060010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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5
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Hyperexcitability of VTA dopaminergic neurons in male offspring exposed to physical or psychological prenatal stress. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2020; 101:109923. [PMID: 32173457 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2020.109923] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2019] [Revised: 03/10/2020] [Accepted: 03/11/2020] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Prenatal stress (PS) exposure leads to cognitive and behavioral alterations in offspring including an increased risk of substance abuse and anxiety disorders. Signalling from dopamine (DA) neurons of the ventral tegmental area (VTA) in the mesoaccumbal and mesocortical pathways plays a vital role in drug dependency and anxiety behavior. To provide further knowledge about the changes in drug seeking behavior and anxiety behaviors in prenatally stressed mice, we conducted ex vivo investigations in VTA brain slices of adult male PS offspring to evaluate the effects of two types of PS (physical vs. psychological) on activity of DA neurons. Elevated plus maze (EPM) was used to assess anxiety-like behaviors and conditioned place preference (CPP) was used to evaluate drug reinforcing effects in mice. An increased anxiety-like behavior and preference to morphine was observed in prenatally stressed mice. PS VTA DA cells exhibited greater Ih current and a higher frequency and amplitude of sEPSCs, which were consistent with a greater degree of pre- or postsynaptic excitability of the VTA. This was confirmed by lower rheobase and lower firing thresholds in PS VTA neurons, as well as increases in spontaneous firing frequency. When taken together, these data suggest that alterations in VTA DA neurons in this mouse model of prenatal stress might be associated with later life alterations in drug seeking and anxiety-like behaviors through their role in mesocortical and mesoaccumbal pathways.
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Datta U, Schoenrock SE, Bubier JA, Bogue MA, Jentsch JD, Logan RW, Tarantino LM, Chesler EJ. Prospects for finding the mechanisms of sex differences in addiction with human and model organism genetic analysis. GENES, BRAIN, AND BEHAVIOR 2020; 19:e12645. [PMID: 32012419 PMCID: PMC7060801 DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12645] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2019] [Revised: 01/26/2020] [Accepted: 01/27/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Despite substantial evidence for sex differences in addiction epidemiology, addiction-relevant behaviors and associated neurobiological phenomena, the mechanisms and implications of these differences remain unknown. Genetic analysis in model organism is a potentially powerful and effective means of discovering the mechanisms that underlie sex differences in addiction. Human genetic studies are beginning to show precise risk variants that influence the mechanisms of addiction but typically lack sufficient power or neurobiological mechanistic access, particularly for the discovery of the mechanisms that underlie sex differences. Our thesis in this review is that genetic variation in model organisms are a promising approach that can complement these investigations to show the biological mechanisms that underlie sex differences in addiction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Udita Datta
- Center for Systems Neurogenetics of Addiction, The Jackson LaboratoryBar HarborMaine
| | - Sarah E. Schoenrock
- Center for Systems Neurogenetics of Addiction, Department of GeneticsUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel HillNorth Carolina
| | - Jason A. Bubier
- Center for Systems Neurogenetics of Addiction, The Jackson LaboratoryBar HarborMaine
| | - Molly A. Bogue
- Center for Systems Neurogenetics of Addiction, The Jackson LaboratoryBar HarborMaine
| | - James D. Jentsch
- Center for Systems Neurogenetics of Addiction, PsychologyState University of New York at BinghamtonBinghamtonNew York
| | - Ryan W. Logan
- Center for Systems Neurogenetics of Addiction, PsychiatryUniversity of Pittsburgh School of MedicinePittsburghPennsylvania
| | - Lisa M. Tarantino
- Center for Systems Neurogenetics of Addiction, Department of GeneticsUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel HillNorth Carolina
| | - Elissa J. Chesler
- Center for Systems Neurogenetics of Addiction, The Jackson LaboratoryBar HarborMaine
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María-Ríos CE, Morrow JD. Mechanisms of Shared Vulnerability to Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Substance Use Disorders. Front Behav Neurosci 2020; 14:6. [PMID: 32082127 PMCID: PMC7006033 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2020.00006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2019] [Accepted: 01/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Psychoactive substance use is a nearly universal human behavior, but a significant minority of people who use addictive substances will go on to develop an addictive disorder. Similarly, though ~90% of people experience traumatic events in their lifetime, only ~10% ever develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Substance use disorders (SUD) and PTSD are highly comorbid, occurring in the same individual far more often than would be predicted by chance given the respective prevalence of each disorder. Some possible reasons that have been proposed for the relationship between PTSD and SUD are self-medication of anxiety with drugs or alcohol, increased exposure to traumatic events due to activities involved in acquiring illegal substances, or addictive substances altering the brain's stress response systems to make users more vulnerable to PTSD. Yet another possibility is that some people have an intrinsic vulnerability that predisposes them to both PTSD and SUD. In this review, we integrate clinical and animal data to explore these possible etiological links between SUD and PTSD, with an emphasis on interactions between dopaminergic, adrenocorticotropic, GABAergic, and glutamatergic neurobehavioral mechanisms that underlie different emotional learning styles.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jonathan D. Morrow
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
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8
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Polli FS, Kohlmeier KA. Prenatal Nicotine Exposure in Rodents: Why Are There So Many Variations in Behavioral Outcomes? Nicotine Tob Res 2019; 22:1694-1710. [DOI: 10.1093/ntr/ntz196] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2019] [Accepted: 10/05/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Abstract
Introduction
The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that smoking cessation rates among women have stagnated in the past decade and estimates that hundreds of millions of women will be smokers in the next decade. Social, environmental, and biological conditions render women more susceptible to nicotine addiction, imposing additional challenges to quit smoking during gestation, which is likely why more than 8% of pregnancies in Europe are associated with smoking. In epidemiological investigations, individuals born from gestational exposure to smoking exhibit a higher risk of development of attention-deficit/hyperactive disorder (ADHD) and liability to drug dependence. Among other teratogenic compounds present in tobacco smoke, nicotine actions during neuronal development could contribute to the observed outcomes as nicotine misleads signaling among progenitor cells during brain development. Several experimental approaches have been developed to address the consequences of prenatal nicotine exposure (PNE) to the brain and behavior but, after four decades of studies, inconsistent data have been reported and the lack of consensus in the field has compromised the hypothesis that gestational nicotine exposure participates in cognitive and emotional behavioral deficits.
Aims
In this review, we discuss the most commonly used PNE models with focus on their advantages and disadvantages, their relative validity, and how the different technical approaches could play a role in the disparate outcomes.
Results
We propose methodological considerations, which could improve the translational significance of the PNE models.
Conclusions
Such alterations might be helpful in reconciling experimental findings, as well as leading to development of treatment targets for maladaptive behaviors in those prenatally exposed.
Implications
In this article, we have reviewed the advantages and disadvantages of different variables of the commonly used experimental models of PNE. We discuss how variations in the nicotine administration methods, the timing of nicotine exposure, nicotine doses, and species employed could contribute to the disparate findings in outcomes for PNE offspring, both in behavior and neuronal changes. In addition, recent findings suggest consideration of epigenetic effects extending across generations. Finally, we have suggested improvements in the available PNE models that could contribute to the enhancement of their validity, which could assist in the reconciliation of experimental findings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Filip Souza Polli
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Kristi Anne Kohlmeier
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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9
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Bagley JR, Adams J, Bozadjian RV, Bubalo L, Kippin TE. Strain differences in maternal neuroendocrine and behavioral responses to stress and the relation to offspring cocaine responsiveness. Int J Dev Neurosci 2019; 78:130-138. [PMID: 31238105 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijdevneu.2019.06.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2019] [Revised: 06/10/2019] [Accepted: 06/21/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Early life stress exposure, including prenatal stress (PNS), influences subsequent risk for many disorders, including substance abuse, and these effects interact with genetic factors to determine risk for disease. We previously demonstrated gene X environmental interactions across the BXD recombinant inbred mouse strain panel and their progenitor strains in PNS modulation of cocaine-induced reward and locomotion. Critical to dissecting genetic interactions with PNS is consideration of the modes of stress transmission to the offspring. Both maternal neuroendocrine responses during stress and subsequent maternal-offspring interactions following stress may serve as transmission modes for PNS-induced changes in cocaine responsiveness. Therefore, we characterized the maternal stress response by measuring restraint stress-induced plasma corticosterone (CORT) during gestation as well as effects of restraint stress on dam-pup contact in the first 10 postnatal days in BXD and progenitor mouse strains. Restraint stress interacted with strain to affect plasma CORT levels and dam-pup contact, indicating heritable variation of the maternal stress response. Furthermore, strain-level variance in maternal stress response correlated to the impact on cocaine response exhibited by adult offspring. These findings implicate multiple modes of maternal stress response in alterations of offspring drug responsiveness and indicate that assessment of maternal endocrine and behavioral responses during early life can be utilized to dissect the complex intersection of maternal factors, the response of the offspring and genetics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jared R Bagley
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, United States
| | - Julia Adams
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, United States
| | - Rachel V Bozadjian
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, United States
| | - Lana Bubalo
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, United States
| | - Tod E Kippin
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, United States
- Neuroscience Research Institute, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, United States
- Department of Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, United States
- Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, United States
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10
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Bagley JR, Szumlinski KK, Kippin TE. Discovery of early life stress interacting and sex-specific quantitative trait loci impacting cocaine responsiveness. Br J Pharmacol 2019; 176:4159-4172. [PMID: 30874305 DOI: 10.1111/bph.14661] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2018] [Revised: 02/12/2019] [Accepted: 02/18/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Addiction vulnerability involves complex gene X environment interactions leading to a pathological response to drugs. Identification of the genes involved in these interactions is an important step in understanding the underlying neurobiology and rarely have such analyses examined sex-specific influences. To dissect this interaction, we examined the impact of prenatal stress (PNS) on cocaine responsiveness in male and female mice of the BXD recombinant inbred panel. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH BXD strains were subjected to timed mating and assigned to PNS or control groups. PNS dams were subjected to restraint stress (1-hr restraint, three times daily) starting between embryonic day (E) 11 and 14 and continued until parturition. Adult male and female, control and PNS offspring were tested for locomotor response to initial and repeated cocaine injections (sensitization) as well as cocaine-induced conditioned place preference (CPP). KEY RESULTS Strain, PNS, and sex interacted to modulate initial and sensitized cocaine-induced locomotion, as well as CPP. Moreover, a quantitative trait locus (QTL) interacting with PNS regulating initial locomotor response to cocaine (chromosome X, 37.91 to 50.95 Mb) was identified. Also PNS-independent, female-specific QTLs regulating CPP (chromosome 11, 65.50 to 81.31 Mb) and sensitized cocaine-induced locomotion (chromosome 16, 95.79 to 98.32 Mb) were identified. Publicly available mRNA expression data were utilized to identify cis-eQTL and transcript covariation with the behavioural phenotype to prioritize candidate genes; including Aifm1. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS These QTL encompass genes that may moderate genetic susceptibility to PNS and interact with sex to determine adult responsiveness to cocaine and addiction vulnerability. LINKED ARTICLES This article is part of a themed section on The Importance of Sex Differences in Pharmacology Research. To view the other articles in this section visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.v176.21/issuetoc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jared R Bagley
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California
| | - Karen K Szumlinski
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California.,Neuroscience Research Institute, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California.,Department of Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California.,Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California
| | - Tod E Kippin
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California.,Neuroscience Research Institute, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California.,Department of Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California.,Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California
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11
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Modeling drug addiction in females: how internal state and environmental context facilitate vulnerability. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2018.02.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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12
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Rowson SA, Foster SL, Weinshenker D, Neigh GN. Locomotor sensitization to cocaine in adolescent and adult female Wistar rats. Behav Brain Res 2018; 349:158-162. [PMID: 29704596 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2018.04.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2018] [Revised: 04/19/2018] [Accepted: 04/22/2018] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Adolescent stress exposure is a risk factor for drug abuse, and sex differences contribute to psychostimulant responses. Although many studies have utilized the Wistar rat strain in adolescent stress paradigms, the impact of adolescent stress exposure on addiction-like outcomes has not been rigorously tested in female Wistar rats. In this study, locomotor sensitization was assessed in adolescent and adult female Wistar rats following either chronic stress during adolescence (CAS) or no stress (NS). Adolescent, but not adult, female Wistar rats developed locomotor sensitization to 15 mg/kg cocaine over 5 days of treatment, regardless of stress history. CAS reduced the initial locomotor response to novelty in both adolescent and adult rats compared to NS controls but had no effect on locomotor sensitization to cocaine in adolescents or adult female rats. These studies expand our understanding of age and adolescent stress on cocaine-induced behavioral plasticity in female Wistar rats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sydney A Rowson
- Department of Human Genetics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, 30322, United States; Molecular and Systems Pharmacology Graduate Program, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, 30322, United States
| | - Stephanie L Foster
- Department of Human Genetics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, 30322, United States; Neuroscience Graduate Program, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, 30322, United States
| | - David Weinshenker
- Department of Human Genetics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, 30322, United States.
| | - Gretchen N Neigh
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, 23284, United States; Department of Physiology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30322, United States.
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13
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Pastor V, Pallarés ME, Antonelli MC. Prenatal stress increases adult vulnerability to cocaine reward without affecting pubertal anxiety or novelty response. Behav Brain Res 2018; 339:186-194. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2017.11.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2017] [Revised: 10/26/2017] [Accepted: 11/26/2017] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
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14
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Becker JB, McClellan ML, Reed BG. Sex differences, gender and addiction. J Neurosci Res 2017; 95:136-147. [PMID: 27870394 DOI: 10.1002/jnr.23963] [Citation(s) in RCA: 357] [Impact Index Per Article: 44.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2016] [Revised: 09/17/2016] [Accepted: 09/19/2016] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
This review discusses alcohol and other forms of drug addiction as both a sociocultural and biological phenomenon. Sex differences and gender are not solely determined by biology, nor are they entirely sociocultural. The interactions among biological, environmental, sociocultural, and developmental influences result in phenotypes that may be more masculine or more feminine. These gender-related sex differences in the brain can influence the responses to drugs of abuse, progressive changes in the brain after exposure to drugs of abuse and whether addiction results from drug-taking experiences. In addition, the basic laboratory evidence for sex differences is discussed within the context of four types of sex/gender differences. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jill B Becker
- Department of Psychology and the Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109
| | - Michele L McClellan
- Department of History and the Residential College, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109
| | - Beth Glover Reed
- School of Social Work and the Department of Women's Studies, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109
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15
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Thomas MB, Becker JB. Sex differences in prenatal stress effects on cocaine pursuit in rats. Physiol Behav 2017; 203:3-9. [PMID: 29055747 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2017.10.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2017] [Revised: 10/02/2017] [Accepted: 10/17/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Disruption of early-life ontogeny has severe and persistent consequences for the health of the developing organism. Both clinical and preclinical findings indicate that such interference can be caused by maternal stress during the gestation period (prenatal stress [PS]). In rats, PS facilitates the rewarding and neurochemical-stimulating effects of drugs, suggesting that PS may represent a risk factor for drug abuse in humans. Very little, however, is known about its effects in females, even though sex differences in drug susceptibility have been well documented in no PS (NPS) controls. Thus, we tested for independent effects and interactions between maternal restraint stress during the last week of gestation and sex on drug use with an extended regimen of drug self-administration. Male and female rats were provided daily access to a large but controlled amount of cocaine for seven weeks. Drug pursuit during the final week was used to indicate susceptibility to developing an addiction-like phenotype, based on reports that drug use becomes increasingly compulsive-like after weeks of testing. Overall, females satisfied more addiction-like criteria than males, and the same was true for PS rats when compared to NPS controls. In addition, sex and PS interacted to disproportionately promote drug pursuit of females with a history of PS. These results indicate that sex differences in drug susceptibility persist with continued drug exposure, and that PS widens this difference by more severely affecting females. In all, PS may be a risk factor for drug addiction in humans, and to a greater extent in women vs. men.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark B Thomas
- Psychology Department, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States; Sciformix, 1500 West Park Drive, Westborough, MA, United States
| | - Jill B Becker
- Psychology Department, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States; Molecular & Behavioral Neuroscience Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States; Neuroscience Program, Psychiatry Department, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States.
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16
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Nazeri M, Ebrahimi A, Aghaei I, Ghotbi Ravandi S, Shabani M. Psychological stress has a higher rate of developing addictive behaviors compared to physical stress in rat offspring. EXCLI JOURNAL 2017; 16:903-913. [PMID: 28900372 PMCID: PMC5579401 DOI: 10.17179/excli2016-685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2016] [Accepted: 06/09/2017] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Prenatal stress could have great influence on development of offspring and might alter cognitive function and other physiological processes of children. The current study was conducted to study the effect of physical or psychological prenatal stress on addictive and anxiety-like behavior of male and female offspring during their adolescence period (postnatal day (PND) 40). Adult female rats were exposed to physical (swimming) or psychological (observing another female rat swimming) stress from day six of gestation for 10 days. Male and female offspring were assayed for anxiety-like behavior, motor and balance function and morphine conditioned place preference using the open field, elevated plus maze (EPM), rotarod and wire grip assay and conditioned place preference. Offspring in both physical and psychological prenatal stress groups demonstrated significant increase in anxiety-like behavior in EPM paradigm, but no alterations were observed in motor and balance function of animals. Offspring in the psychological prenatal stress group had an increased preference for morphine in comparison to control and physical prenatal stress groups. Results of the current study demonstrated that animals exposed to psychological stress during fetal development are at a higher risk of developing addictive behaviors. Further research might elucidate the exact mechanisms involved to provide better preventive and therapeutic interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masoud Nazeri
- Department of Oral Medicine and Chronic Headache and Facial Pain Clinic, School of Dentistry, Kerman, IranUniversity of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
| | - Arezoo Ebrahimi
- Neuroscience Research Center, Neuropharmacology Institute, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
| | - Iraj Aghaei
- Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Gilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran
| | - Samaneh Ghotbi Ravandi
- Neuroscience Research Center, Neuropharmacology Institute, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
| | - Mohammad Shabani
- Neuroscience Research Center, Neuropharmacology Institute, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
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Enduring, Sexually Dimorphic Impact of In Utero Exposure to Elevated Levels of Glucocorticoids on Midbrain Dopaminergic Populations. Brain Sci 2016; 7:brainsci7010005. [PMID: 28042822 PMCID: PMC5297294 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci7010005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2016] [Revised: 12/14/2016] [Accepted: 12/16/2016] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Glucocorticoid hormones (GCs) released from the fetal/maternal glands during late gestation are required for normal development of mammalian organs and tissues. Accordingly, synthetic glucocorticoids have proven to be invaluable in perinatal medicine where they are widely used to accelerate fetal lung maturation when there is risk of pre-term birth and to promote infant survival. However, clinical and pre-clinical studies have demonstrated that inappropriate exposure of the developing brain to elevated levels of GCs, either as a result of clinical over-use or after stress-induced activation of the fetal/maternal adrenal cortex, is linked with significant effects on brain structure, neurological function and behaviour in later life. In order to understand the underlying neural processes, particular interest has focused on the midbrain dopaminergic systems, which are critical regulators of normal adaptive behaviours, cognitive and sensorimotor functions. Specifically, using a rodent model of GC exposure in late gestation (approximating human brain development at late second/early third trimester), we demonstrated enduring effects on the shape and volume of the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) (origins of the mesocorticolimbic and nigrostriatal dopaminergic pathways) on the topographical organisation and size of the dopaminergic neuronal populations and astrocytes within these nuclei and on target innervation density and neurochemical markers of dopaminergic transmission (receptors, transporters, basal and amphetamine-stimulated dopamine release at striatal and prefrontal cortical sites) that impact on the adult brain. The effects of antenatal GC treatment (AGT) were both profound and sexually-dimorphic, not only in terms of quantitative change but also qualitatively, with several parameters affected in the opposite direction in males and females. Although such substantial neurobiological changes might presage marked behavioural effects, in utero GC exposure had only a modest or no effect, depending on sex, on a range of conditioned and unconditioned behaviours known to depend on midbrain dopaminergic transmission. Collectively, these findings suggest that apparent behavioural normality in certain tests, but not others, arises from AGT-induced adaptations or compensatory mechanisms within the midbrain dopaminergic systems, which preserve some, but not all functions. Furthermore, the capacities for molecular adaptations to early environmental challenge are different, even opponent, in males and females, which may account for their differential resilience or failure to perform adequately in behavioural tests. Behavioural "normality" is thus achieved by the midbrain dopaminergic network operating outside its normal limits (in a state of allostasis), rendering it at greater risk to malfunction when challenged in later life. Sex-specific neurobiological programming of midbrain dopaminergic systems may, therefore, have psychopathological relevance for the sex bias commonly found in brain disorders associated with these systems, and which have a neurodevelopmental component, including schizophrenia, ADHD (attention/deficit hyperactivity disorders), autism, depression and substance abuse.
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Reynaert ML, Marrocco J, Mairesse J, Lionetto L, Simmaco M, Deruyter L, Allorge D, Moles A, Pittaluga A, Maccari S, Morley-Fletcher S, Van Camp G, Nicoletti F. Hedonic sensitivity to natural rewards is affected by prenatal stress in a sex-dependent manner. Addict Biol 2016; 21:1072-1085. [PMID: 26011513 DOI: 10.1111/adb.12270] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Palatable food is a strong activator of the reward circuitry and may cause addictive behavior leading to eating disorders. How early life events and sex interact in shaping hedonic sensitivity to palatable food is largely unknown. We used prenatally restraint stressed (PRS) rats, which show abnormalities in the reward system and anxious/depressive-like behavior. Some of the hallmarks of PRS rats are known to be sex-dependent. We report that PRS enhanced and reduced milk chocolate-induced conditioned place preference in males and females, respectively. Male PRS rats also show increases in plasma dihydrotestosterone (DHT) levels and dopamine (DA) levels in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), and reductions in 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) levels in the NAc and prefrontal cortex (PFC). In male rats, systemic treatment with the DHT-lowering drug finasteride reduced both milk chocolate preference and NAc DA levels. Female PRS rats showed lower plasma estradiol (E2 ) levels and lower DA levels in the NAc, and 5-HT levels in the NAc and PFC. E2 supplementation reversed the reduction in milk chocolate preference and PFC 5-HT levels. In the hypothalamus, PRS increased ERα and ERβ estrogen receptor and CARTP (cocaine-and-amphetamine receptor transcript peptide) mRNA levels in males, and 5-HT2C receptor mRNA levels in females. Changes were corrected by treatments with finasteride and E2 , respectively. These new findings show that early life stress has a profound impact on hedonic sensitivity to high-palatable food via long-lasting changes in gonadal hormones. This paves the way to the development of hormonal strategies aimed at correcting abnormalities in the response to natural rewards.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie-Line Reynaert
- International Associated Laboratory (LIA) ‘Prenatal Stress and Neurodegenerative Diseases’; UMR8576 University Lille 1/CNRS; France
- Sapienza University of Rome/IRCCS Neuromed; Italy
| | | | - Jérôme Mairesse
- International Associated Laboratory (LIA) ‘Prenatal Stress and Neurodegenerative Diseases’; UMR8576 University Lille 1/CNRS; France
- Sapienza University of Rome/IRCCS Neuromed; Italy
| | - Luana Lionetto
- Advanced Molecular Diagnostic; Sant'Andrea Hospital; Italy
| | | | - Lucie Deruyter
- International Associated Laboratory (LIA) ‘Prenatal Stress and Neurodegenerative Diseases’; UMR8576 University Lille 1/CNRS; France
- Sapienza University of Rome/IRCCS Neuromed; Italy
| | | | - Anna Moles
- Institute of Neuroscience; National Research Council (CNR); Italy
- Genomnia; Italy
| | | | - Stefania Maccari
- International Associated Laboratory (LIA) ‘Prenatal Stress and Neurodegenerative Diseases’; UMR8576 University Lille 1/CNRS; France
- Sapienza University of Rome/IRCCS Neuromed; Italy
| | - Sara Morley-Fletcher
- International Associated Laboratory (LIA) ‘Prenatal Stress and Neurodegenerative Diseases’; UMR8576 University Lille 1/CNRS; France
- Sapienza University of Rome/IRCCS Neuromed; Italy
| | - Gilles Van Camp
- International Associated Laboratory (LIA) ‘Prenatal Stress and Neurodegenerative Diseases’; UMR8576 University Lille 1/CNRS; France
- Sapienza University of Rome/IRCCS Neuromed; Italy
| | - Ferdinando Nicoletti
- International Associated Laboratory (LIA) ‘Prenatal Stress and Neurodegenerative Diseases’; UMR8576 University Lille 1/CNRS; France
- Sapienza University of Rome/IRCCS Neuromed; Italy
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19
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Pastor V, Antonelli MC, Pallarés ME. Unravelling the Link Between Prenatal Stress, Dopamine and Substance Use Disorder. Neurotox Res 2016; 31:169-186. [DOI: 10.1007/s12640-016-9674-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2016] [Revised: 09/19/2016] [Accepted: 09/23/2016] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
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20
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Taoka N, Kamiizawa R, Wada S, Minami M, Kaneda K. Chronic cocaine exposure induces noradrenergic modulation of inhibitory synaptic transmission to cholinergic neurons of the laterodorsal tegmental nucleus. Eur J Neurosci 2016; 44:3035-3045. [DOI: 10.1111/ejn.13405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2016] [Revised: 08/23/2016] [Accepted: 09/16/2016] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Naofumi Taoka
- Department of Pharmacology; Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences; Hokkaido University; Sapporo Japan
| | - Ryota Kamiizawa
- Department of Pharmacology; Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences; Hokkaido University; Sapporo Japan
| | - Shintaro Wada
- Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology; Institute of Medical, Pharmaceutical and Health Sciences; Kanazawa University; Kakuma-machi Kanazawa 920-1192 Japan
| | - Masabumi Minami
- Department of Pharmacology; Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences; Hokkaido University; Sapporo Japan
| | - Katsuyuki Kaneda
- Department of Pharmacology; Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences; Hokkaido University; Sapporo Japan
- Laboratory of Molecular Pharmacology; Institute of Medical, Pharmaceutical and Health Sciences; Kanazawa University; Kakuma-machi Kanazawa 920-1192 Japan
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21
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Becker JB, McClellan M, Reed BG. Sociocultural context for sex differences in addiction. Addict Biol 2016; 21:1052-9. [PMID: 26935336 DOI: 10.1111/adb.12383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2016] [Accepted: 02/03/2016] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
In this review, we discuss the importance of investigating both sex and gender differences in addiction and relapse in studies of humans and in animal models. Addiction is both a cultural and biological phenomenon. Sex and gender differences are not solely determined by our biology, nor are they entirely cultural; they are interactions between biology and the environment that are continuously played out throughout development. Lessons from the historical record illustrate how context and attitudes affect the way that substance use in men and women is regarded. Finally, cultural and environmental influences may differentially affect men and women, and affect how they respond to drugs of abuse and to treatment protocols. We recommend that both animal models and clinical research need to be developed to consider how contextual and social factors may influence the biological processes of addiction and relapse differentially in men and women.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jill B. Becker
- Department of Psychology and the Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience Institute; University of Michigan; Ann Arbor MI USA
| | - Michelle McClellan
- Department of History and the Residential College; University of Michigan; Ann Arbor MI USA
| | - Beth Glover Reed
- School of Social Work and the Department of Women's Studies; University of Michigan; Ann Arbor MI USA
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22
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Abstract
The purpose of this review is to discuss ways to think about and study sex differences in preclinical animal models. We use the framework of addiction, in which animal models have excellent face and construct validity, to illustrate the importance of considering sex differences. There are four types of sex differences: qualitative, quantitative, population, and mechanistic. A better understanding of the ways males and females can differ will help scientists design experiments to characterize better the presence or absence of sex differences in new phenomena that they are investigating. We have outlined major quantitative, population, and mechanistic sex differences in the addiction domain using a heuristic framework of the three established stages of the addiction cycle: binge/intoxication, withdrawal/negative affect, and preoccupation/anticipation. Female rats, in general, acquire the self-administration of drugs and alcohol more rapidly, escalate their drug taking with extended access more rapidly, show more motivational withdrawal, and (where tested in animal models of "craving") show greater reinstatement. The one exception is that female rats show less motivational withdrawal to alcohol. The bases for these quantitative sex differences appear to be both organizational, in that estradiol-treated neonatal animals show the male phenotype, and activational, in that the female phenotype depends on the effects of gonadal hormones. In animals, differences within the estrous cycle can be observed but are relatively minor. Such hormonal effects seem to be most prevalent during the acquisition of drug taking and less influential once compulsive drug taking is established and are linked largely to progesterone and estradiol. This review emphasizes not only significant differences in the phenotypes of females and males in the domain of addiction but emphasizes the paucity of data to date in our understanding of those differences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jill B Becker
- Molecular & Behavioral Neuroscience Institute, Department of Psychiatry, Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan (J.B.B.); and Director, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland (G.F.K.)
| | - George F Koob
- Molecular & Behavioral Neuroscience Institute, Department of Psychiatry, Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan (J.B.B.); and Director, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland (G.F.K.)
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23
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Goulopoulou S, McCarthy CG, Webb RC. Toll-like Receptors in the Vascular System: Sensing the Dangers Within. Pharmacol Rev 2016; 68:142-67. [PMID: 26721702 PMCID: PMC4709508 DOI: 10.1124/pr.114.010090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 188] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are components of the innate immune system that respond to exogenous infectious ligands (pathogen-associated molecular patterns, PAMPs) and endogenous molecules that are released during host tissue injury/death (damage-associated molecular patterns, DAMPs). Interaction of TLRs with their ligands leads to activation of downstream signaling pathways that induce an immune response by producing inflammatory cytokines, type I interferons (IFN), and other inflammatory mediators. TLR activation affects vascular function and remodeling, and these molecular events prime antigen-specific adaptive immune responses. Despite the presence of TLRs in vascular cells, the exact mechanisms whereby TLR signaling affects the function of vascular tissues are largely unknown. Cardiovascular diseases are considered chronic inflammatory conditions, and accumulating data show that TLRs and the innate immune system play a determinant role in the initiation and development of cardiovascular diseases. This evidence unfolds a possibility that targeting TLRs and the innate immune system may be a novel therapeutic goal for these conditions. TLR inhibitors and agonists are already in clinical trials for inflammatory conditions such as asthma, cancer, and autoimmune diseases, but their study in the context of cardiovascular diseases is in its infancy. In this article, we review the current knowledge of TLR signaling in the cardiovascular system with an emphasis on atherosclerosis, hypertension, and cerebrovascular injury. Furthermore, we address the therapeutic potential of TLR as pharmacological targets in cardiovascular disease and consider intriguing research questions for future study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Styliani Goulopoulou
- Institute for Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, Texas; and Department of Physiology, Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia
| | - Cameron G McCarthy
- Institute for Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, Texas; and Department of Physiology, Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia
| | - R Clinton Webb
- Institute for Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, Texas; and Department of Physiology, Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia
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24
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McArthur S, Pienaar IS, Siddiqi SM, Gillies GE. Sex-specific disruption of murine midbrain astrocytic and dopaminergic developmental trajectories following antenatal GC treatment. Brain Struct Funct 2015; 221:2459-75. [PMID: 25944572 PMCID: PMC4884206 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-015-1049-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2014] [Accepted: 04/20/2015] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The mammalian midbrain dopaminergic systems arising in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) and ventral tegmental area (VTA) are critical for coping behaviours and are implicated in neuropsychiatric disorders where early life challenges comprise significant risk factors. Here, we aimed to advance our hypothesis that glucocorticoids (GCs), recognised key players in neurobiological programming, target development within these systems, with a novel focus on the astrocytic population. Mice received antenatal GC treatment (AGT) by including the synthetic GC, dexamethasone, in the mothers' drinking water on gestational days 16-19; controls received normal drinking water. Analyses of regional shapes and volumes of the adult SNc and VTA demonstrated that AGT induced long-term, dose-dependent, structural changes that were accompanied by profound effects on astrocytes (doubling/tripling of numbers and/or density). Additionally, AGT induced long-term changes in the population size and distribution of SNc/VTA dopaminergic neurons, confirming and extending our previous observations made in rats. Furthermore, glial/neuronal structural remodelling was sexually dimorphic and depended on the AGT dose and sub-region of the SNc/VTA. Investigations within the neonatal brain revealed that these long-term organisational effects of AGT depend, at least in part, on targeting perinatal processes that determine astrocyte density and programmed cell death in dopaminergic neurons. Collectively, our characterisation of enduring, AGT-induced, sex-specific cytoarchitectural disturbances suggests novel mechanistic links for the strong association between early environmental challenge (inappropriate exposure to excess GCs) and vulnerability to developing aberrant behaviours in later life, with translational implications for dopamine-associated disorders (such as schizophrenia, ADHD, autism, depression), which typically show a sex bias.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon McArthur
- Division of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital Campus, Du Cane Road, London, W12 0NN, UK.,Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Westminster, 115 New Cavendish Street, London, W1W 6UW, UK
| | - Ilse S Pienaar
- Division of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital Campus, Du Cane Road, London, W12 0NN, UK.,Department of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
| | - Sindhu M Siddiqi
- Division of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital Campus, Du Cane Road, London, W12 0NN, UK
| | - Glenda E Gillies
- Division of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital Campus, Du Cane Road, London, W12 0NN, UK.
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25
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Prenatal stress and adult drug-seeking behavior: interactions with genes and relation to nondrug-related behavior. ADVANCES IN NEUROBIOLOGY 2015; 10:75-100. [PMID: 25287537 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-1372-5_5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Addiction inflicts large personal, social, and economic burdens, yet its etiology is poorly defined and effective treatments are lacking. As with other neuropsychiatric disorders, addiction is characterized by a core set of symptoms and behaviors that are believed to be influenced by complex gene-environment interactions. Our group focuses on the interaction between early stress and genetic background in determining addiction vulnerability. Prior work by our group and others has indicated that a history of prenatal stress (PNS) in rodents elevates adult drug seeking in a number of behavioral paradigms. The focus of the present chapter is to summarize work in the area of PNS and addiction models as well as our recent studies of PNS on drug seeking in different strains of mice as a strategy to dissect gene-environment interactions underlying cocaine addiction vulnerability. These studies indicate that ability of PNS to elevate adult cocaine seeking is strain dependent. Further, PNS also alters other nondrug behaviors in a fashion that is dependent on different strains and independent from the strain dependence of drug seeking. Thus, it appears that the ability of PNS to alter behavior related to different psychiatric conditions is orthogonal, with similar nonspecific susceptibility to prenatal stress across genetic backgrounds but with the genetic background determining the specific nature of the PNS effects. Finally, the advent of recombinant inbred mouse strains is allowing us to determine the genetic bases of these gene-environment interactions. Understanding these effects will have broad implications to determining the nature of vulnerability to addiction and perhaps other disorders.
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26
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Gillies G, Virdee K, McArthur S, Dalley J. Sex-dependent diversity in ventral tegmental dopaminergic neurons and developmental programing: A molecular, cellular and behavioral analysis. Neuroscience 2014; 282:69-85. [PMID: 24943715 PMCID: PMC4245713 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2014.05.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 96] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2014] [Revised: 05/12/2014] [Accepted: 05/18/2014] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
The knowledge that diverse populations of dopaminergic neurons within the ventral tegmental area (VTA) can be distinguished in terms of their molecular, electrophysiological and functional properties, as well as their differential projections to cortical and subcortical regions has significance for key brain functions, such as the regulation of motivation, working memory and sensorimotor control. Almost without exception, this understanding has evolved from landmark studies performed in the male sex. However, converging evidence from both clinical and pre-clinical studies illustrates that the structure and functioning of the VTA dopaminergic systems are intrinsically different in males and females. This may be driven by sex differences in the hormonal environment during adulthood ('activational' effects) and development (perinatal and/or pubertal 'organizational' effects), as well as genetic factors, especially the SRY gene on the Y chromosome in males, which is expressed in a sub-population of adult midbrain dopaminergic neurons. Stress and stress hormones, especially glucocorticoids, are important factors which interact with the VTA dopaminergic systems in order to achieve behavioral adaptation and enable the individual to cope with environmental change. Here, also, there is male/female diversity not only during adulthood, but also in early life when neurobiological programing by stress or glucocorticoid exposure differentially impacts dopaminergic developmental trajectories in male and female brains. This may have enduring consequences for individual resilience or susceptibility to pathophysiological change induced by stressors in later life, with potential translational significance for sex bias commonly found in disorders involving dysfunction of the mesocorticolimbic dopaminergic systems. These findings highlight the urgent need for a better understanding of the sexual dimorphism in the VTA if we are to improve strategies for the prevention and treatment of debilitating conditions which differentially affect men and women in their prevalence and nature, including schizophrenia, attention/deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorders, anxiety, depression and addiction.
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Affiliation(s)
- G.E. Gillies
- Division of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital, London, UK,Corresponding author. Address: Division of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK. Tel: +44-(0)-20-7594-7050.
| | - K. Virdee
- Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK,Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK
| | - S. McArthur
- William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Charterhouse Square, London EC1 6BQ, UK
| | - J.W. Dalley
- Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK,Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK,Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Hill’s Road, Cambridge CB2 2QQ, UK
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27
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Predisposing effects of neonatal visceral pain on abuse-related effects of morphine in adult male Sprague Dawley rats. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2014; 231:4281-9. [PMID: 24756764 PMCID: PMC5384261 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-014-3574-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2013] [Accepted: 04/04/2014] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Adverse early life experiences are risk factors for drug abuse and addiction. Changes in brain opioid systems have been demonstrated in response to neonatal visceral pain (NVP), but the impact of these changes on abuse-related effects of morphine are unknown. The NVP procedure used models chronic visceral hyperalgesia persisting across development. OBJECTIVES Intravenous self-administration, drug discrimination, and locomotor activity were used to compare the abuse-related effects of morphine in NVP and control rats. METHODS Rats self-administered 0.3 mg/kg/inj morphine under an FR1 schedule, and dose-effect functions for morphine were then established. Separate rats were trained to discriminate 3.2 mg/kg morphine from saline under an FR20 schedule, and morphine dose-effect functions were then determined in the absence and presence of 0.1 mg/kg naltrexone. A third group of rats was tested with a range of morphine doses in an assay of locomotor activity, then injected daily with 10 mg/kg morphine to assess locomotor sensitization. RESULTS NVP rats self-administered more morphine than controls at reinforcing doses. Discriminative stimulus effects of morphine were similar between groups, but in the presence of naltrexone, the ED50 for morphine was more than 12× greater in control rats than in NVP animals. Morphine did not stimulate locomotor activity at any tested dose in NVP rats, although significant effects were observed in controls. Finally, significant locomotor sensitization was observed only in NVP rats. CONCLUSIONS NVP-induced changes in brain opioid systems have persistent pharmacological consequences into adulthood and may increase sensitivity to abuse-related effects of opioids across development.
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Homberg JR, Karel P, Verheij MMM. Individual differences in cocaine addiction: maladaptive behavioural traits. Addict Biol 2014; 19:517-28. [PMID: 24835358 DOI: 10.1111/adb.12036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Cocaine use leads to addiction in only a subset of individuals. Understanding the mechanisms underlying these individual differences in the transition from cocaine use to cocaine abuse is important to develop treatment strategies. There is agreement that specific behavioural traits increase the risk for addiction. As such, both high impulsivity and high anxiety have been reported to predict (compulsive) cocaine self-administration behaviour. Here, we set out a new view explaining how these two behavioural traits may affect addictive behaviour. According to psychological and psychiatric evolutionary views, organisms flourish well when they fit (match) their environment by trait and genotype. However, under non-fit conditions, the need to compensate the failure to deal with this environment increases, and, as a consequence, the functional use of rewarding drugs like cocaine may also increase. It suggests that neither impulsivity nor anxiety are bad per se, but that the increased risk to develop cocaine addiction is dependent on whether behavioural traits are adaptive or maladaptive in the environment to which the animals are exposed. This 'behavioural (mal)adaptation view' on individual differences in vulnerability to cocaine addiction may help to improve therapies for addiction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judith R. Homberg
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Centre for Neuroscience; Nijmegen The Netherlands
| | - Peter Karel
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Centre for Neuroscience; Nijmegen The Netherlands
| | - Michel M. M. Verheij
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Centre for Neuroscience; Nijmegen The Netherlands
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29
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Sominsky L, Spencer SJ. Eating behavior and stress: a pathway to obesity. Front Psychol 2014; 5:434. [PMID: 24860541 PMCID: PMC4026680 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00434] [Citation(s) in RCA: 195] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2014] [Accepted: 04/24/2014] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Stress causes or contributes to a huge variety of diseases and disorders. Recent evidence suggests obesity and other eating-related disorders may be among these. Immediately after a stressful event is experienced, there is a corticotropin-releasing-hormone (CRH)-mediated suppression of food intake. This diverts the body’s resources away from the less pressing need to find and consume food, prioritizing fight, flight, or withdrawal behaviors so the stressful event can be dealt with. In the hours following this, however, there is a glucocorticoid-mediated stimulation of hunger and eating behavior. In the case of an acute stress that requires a physical response, such as a predator-prey interaction, this hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis modulation of food intake allows the stressful event to be dealt with and the energy used to be replaced afterward. In the case of ongoing psychological stress, however, chronically elevated glucocorticoids can lead to chronically stimulated eating behavior and excessive weight gain. In particular, stress can enhance the propensity to eat high calorie “palatable” food via its interaction with central reward pathways. Activation of this circuitry can also interact with the HPA axis to suppress its further activation, meaning not only can stress encourage eating behavior, but eating can suppress the HPA axis and the feeling of stress. In this review we will explore the theme of eating behavior and stress and how these can modulate one another. We will address the interactions between the HPA axis and eating, introducing a potential integrative role for the orexigenic hormone, ghrelin. We will also examine early life and epigenetic modulation of the HPA axis and how this can influence eating behavior. Finally, we will investigate the clinical implications of changes to HPA axis function and how this may be contributing to obesity in our society.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luba Sominsky
- School of Health Sciences and Health Innovations Research Institute, RMIT University Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Sarah J Spencer
- School of Health Sciences and Health Innovations Research Institute, RMIT University Melbourne, VIC, Australia
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Dow-Edwards D, Iijima M, Stephenson S, Jackson A, Weedon J. The effects of prenatal cocaine, post-weaning housing and sex on conditioned place preference in adolescent rats. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2014; 231:1543-55. [PMID: 24435324 PMCID: PMC4237584 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-013-3418-9] [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: 08/14/2013] [Accepted: 12/18/2013] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
RATIONALE Gestational exposure to cocaine now affects several million people including adolescents and young adults. Whether prenatal drug exposures alter an individual's tendency to take and/or abuse drugs is still a matter of debate. OBJECTIVES This study sought to answer the question "Does prenatal exposure to cocaine, in a dose-response fashion, alter the rewarding effects of cocaine using a conditioned place preference (CPP) procedure during adolescence in the rat?" Further, we wanted to assess the possible sex differences and the role of being raised in an enriched versus impoverished environment. METHODS Virgin female Sprague-Dawley rats were dosed daily with cocaine at 30 mg/kg (C30), 60 mg/kg (C60), or vehicle intragastrically prior to mating and throughout gestation. Pups were culled, fostered and, on postnatal day (PND) 23, placed into isolation cages or enriched cages with three same-sex littermates and stimulus objects. On PND43-47, CPP was determined across a range of cocaine doses. RESULTS C30 exposure increased sensitivity to the rewarding effects of cocaine in adolescent males, and being raised in an enriched environment further enhanced this effect. Rats exposed to C60 resembled the controls in cocaine CPP. Overall, females were modestly affected by prenatal cocaine and enrichment. CONCLUSIONS These data support the unique sensitivity of males to the effects of gestational cocaine, that moderate prenatal cocaine doses produce greater effects on developing reward circuits than high doses and that housing condition interacts with prenatal treatment and sex such that enrichment increases cocaine CPP mostly in adolescent males prenatally exposed to moderate cocaine doses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana Dow-Edwards
- Department of Physiology/Pharmacology, Box 29, State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center, 450 Clarkson Ave, Brooklyn, NY, 11203, USA,
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Marrocco J, Mairesse J, Bucci D, Lionetto L, Battaglia G, Consolazione M, Ravasi L, Simmaco M, Morley-Fletcher S, Maccari S, Nicoletti F. Early life stress causes refractoriness to haloperidol-induced catalepsy. Mol Pharmacol 2013; 84:244-51. [PMID: 23716620 DOI: 10.1124/mol.113.085530] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The use of classic antipsychotic drugs is limited by the occurrence of extrapyramidal motor symptoms, which are caused by dopamine (DA) receptor blockade in the neostriatum. We examined the impact of early-life stress on haloperidol-induced catalepsy using the rat model of prenatal restraint stress (PRS). Adult "PRS rats," i.e., the offspring of mothers exposed to restraint stress during pregnancy, were resistant to catalepsy induced by haloperidol (0.5-5 mg/kg i.p.) or raclopride (2 mg/kg s.c.). Resistance to catalepsy in PRS rats did not depend on reductions in blood or striatal levels, as compared with unstressed control rats. PRS rats also showed a greater behavioral response to the DA receptor agonist, apomorphine, suggesting that PRS causes enduring neuroplastic changes in the basal ganglia motor circuit. To examine the activity of this circuit, we performed a stereological counting of c-Fos(+) neurons in the external and internal globus pallidus, subthalamic nucleus, and ventral motor thalamic nuclei. Remarkably, the number of c-Fos(+) neurons in ventral motor thalamic nuclei was higher in PRS rats than in unstressed controls, both under basal conditions and in response to single or repeated injections with haloperidol. Ventral motor thalamic nuclei contain exclusively excitatory projection neurons that convey the basal ganglia motor programming to the cerebral cortex. Hence, an increased activity of ventral motor thalamic nuclei nicely explains the refractoriness of PRS rats to haloperidol-induced catalepsy. Our data raise the interesting possibility that early-life stress is protective against extrapyramidal motor effects of antipsychotic drugs in the adult life.
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Spencer SJ. Perinatal programming of neuroendocrine mechanisms connecting feeding behavior and stress. Front Neurosci 2013; 7:109. [PMID: 23785312 PMCID: PMC3683620 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2013.00109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2013] [Accepted: 05/31/2013] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Feeding behavior is closely regulated by neuroendocrine mechanisms that can be influenced by stressful life events. However, the feeding response to stress varies among individuals with some increasing and others decreasing food intake after stress. In addition to the impact of acute lifestyle and genetic backgrounds, the early life environment can have a life-long influence on neuroendocrine mechanisms connecting stress to feeding behavior and may partially explain these opposing feeding responses to stress. In this review I will discuss the perinatal programming of adult hypothalamic stress and feeding circuitry. Specifically I will address how early life (prenatal and postnatal) nutrition, early life stress, and the early life hormonal profile can program the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, the endocrine arm of the body's response to stress long-term and how these changes can, in turn, influence the hypothalamic circuitry responsible for regulating feeding behavior. Thus, over- or under-feeding and/or stressful events during critical windows of early development can alter glucocorticoid (GC) regulation of the HPA axis, leading to changes in the GC influence on energy storage and changes in GC negative feedback on HPA axis-derived satiety signals such as corticotropin-releasing-hormone. Furthermore, peripheral hormones controlling satiety, such as leptin and insulin are altered by early life events, and can be influenced, in early life and adulthood, by stress. Importantly, these neuroendocrine signals act as trophic factors during development to stimulate connectivity throughout the hypothalamus. The interplay between these neuroendocrine signals, the perinatal environment, and activation of the stress circuitry in adulthood thus strongly influences feeding behavior and may explain why individuals have unique feeding responses to similar stressors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah J Spencer
- School of Health Sciences and Health Innovations Research Institute, RMIT University Melbourne, VIC, Australia
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Prenatal stress exposure increases the excitation of dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area and alters their reponses to psychostimulants. Neuropsychopharmacology 2013; 38:293-301. [PMID: 22948974 PMCID: PMC3527115 DOI: 10.1038/npp.2012.168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Prenatal stress exposure (PSE) is known to increase addiction risk. Dopamine (DA) neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) play an important role in addiction. In order to understand the cellular mechanisms underlying PSE-induced increase in addiction risk, we examined the effects of PSE on the electrical impulse activity of VTA DA neurons using the in vivo extracellular single-unit recording technique. Amphetamine self-administration was also conducted to confirm increased addiction risk after PSE. The PSE was carried out by restraining pregnant dams from GD 11 to 20. Adult male offspring (3-6 months old) were used in the experiments. Animals with PSE showed enhanced amphetamine self-administration compared with controls when amphetamine dose was reduced after acquisition. The number of spontaneously active VTA DA neurons was also reduced in PSE rats. The reduction was reversed by acute apomorphine that normally inhibits the impulse activity of DA neurons. The reversal effect suggests that PSE-induced reduction in the number of spontaneously active VTA DA neurons is caused by overexcitation to the extent of depolarization block. Furthermore, the reduced number of spontaneously active VTA DA neurons was also reversed by acute psychostimulants (eg, amphetamine; cocaine), which in control rats inhibited the activity of VTA DA neurons. The reversal effect on VTA DA neuron in PSE animals represents an actual increase in the impulse activity. This effect might contribute to increased responding to psychostimulants and mediate increased addiction risk after PSE.
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Macrì S, Ceci C, Canese R, Laviola G. Prenatal stress and peripubertal stimulation of the endocannabinoid system differentially regulate emotional responses and brain metabolism in mice. PLoS One 2012; 7:e41821. [PMID: 22848620 PMCID: PMC3405010 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0041821] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2012] [Accepted: 06/26/2012] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The central endocannabinoid system (ECS) and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal-axis mediate individual responses to emotionally salient stimuli. Their altered developmental adjustment may relate to the emergence of emotional disturbances. Although environmental influences regulate the individual phenotype throughout the entire lifespan, their effects may result particularly persistent during plastic developmental stages (e.g. prenatal life and adolescence). Here, we investigated whether prenatal stress – in the form of gestational exposure to corticosterone supplemented in the maternal drinking water (100 mg/l) during the last week of pregnancy – combined with a pharmacological stimulation of the ECS during adolescence (daily fatty acid amide hydrolase URB597 i.p. administration - 0.4 mg/kg - between postnatal days 29–38), influenced adult mouse emotional behaviour and brain metabolism measured through in vivo quantitative magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Compared to control mice, URB597-treated subjects showed, in the short-term, reduced locomotion and, in the long term, reduced motivation to execute operant responses to obtain palatable rewards paralleled by reduced levels of inositol and taurine in the prefrontal cortex. Adult mice exposed to prenatal corticosterone showed increased behavioural anxiety and reduced locomotion in the elevated zero maze, and altered brain metabolism (increased glutamate and reduced taurine in the hippocampus; reduced inositol and N-Acetyl-Aspartate in the hypothalamus). Present data further corroborate the view that prenatal stress and pharmacological ECS stimulation during adolescence persistently regulate emotional responses in adulthood. Yet, whilst we hypothesized these factors to be interactive in nature, we observed that the consequences of prenatal corticosterone administration were independent from those of ECS drug-induced stimulation during adolescence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone Macrì
- Department of Cell Biology and Neurosciences, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Roma, Italy.
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Effects of prenatal immune activation and peri-adolescent stress on amphetamine-induced conditioned place preference in the rat. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2012; 222:313-24. [PMID: 22290326 PMCID: PMC3410038 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-012-2646-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2011] [Accepted: 01/14/2012] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Addiction is a disease of learning and memory, as learning processes underlying acquisition, extinction, and reinstatement of drug-paired associations play central roles in addiction. Early developmental stress enhances risk for drug problems in adulthood. Environmental factors influencing learning and memory processes relevant to addiction remain incompletely characterized. OBJECTIVES To determine effects of prenatal immune activation and developmental stress on conditioned place preference to amphetamine, and reversal learning. METHODS Pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were injected with polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid (poly I:C) or vehicle on gestational day 14. Half of the male offspring received 2 h of restraint stress at post-natal day 35. Behavioral testing was performed in adulthood. RESULTS Restraint stress inhibited acquisition of place preference to low-dose amphetamine (0.5 mg/kg), while poly I:C treatment had no measurable effect on place preference acquisition. In contrast, drug-induced reinstatement of preference for drug-paired chamber was enhanced in offspring of poly I:C-treated dams [F(1,25)05.31, p00.03]. Performance on a Morris water maze reversal learning task was impaired in poly I:C offspring. Reversal learning performance was correlated with place preference reinstatement in non-stressed (r200.42, p00.0095), but not stressed rats (r2 00.04, p00.49). CONCLUSIONS Prenatal immune activation enhances drug induced reinstatement of conditioned place preference. These data demonstrate longstanding impact on behaviors with potential influence on risk for drug relapse as a consequence of prenatal immune activation. Further study is needed to determine clinical and epidemiological consequences of similar exposures in human populations.
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Muhammad A, Kolb B. Mild prenatal stress-modulated behavior and neuronal spine density without affecting amphetamine sensitization. Dev Neurosci 2011; 33:85-98. [PMID: 21576912 DOI: 10.1159/000324744] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2010] [Accepted: 01/29/2011] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The present study investigated the effect of prenatal stress (PS) on juvenile behavior and adult amphetamine (AMPH) sensitization, as well as the effect of the interaction between experience (i.e. PS) and drug (i.e. AMPH) on cortical thickness and neuronal morphology in corticolimbic regions in rats. Juvenile male and female rats, exposed to gestational stress, were tested in behavioral tasks that included open field locomotion, elevated plus maze, novel object recognition, and play fighting behavior. The development and persistence of drug-induced behavioral sensitization in adults were tested by chronic AMPH administration and challenge, respectively. Spine density in corticolimbic regions was examined for structural plasticity. The findings showed that PS produced anxiety-like behavior in males. Furthermore, PS in males resulted in female-like play and enhanced partial rotation defense, whereas in females PS increased the probability of evasion in response to an attack. AMPH administration resulted in gradual increase in behavioral sensitization that persisted at least for 2 weeks; however, PS did not influence AMPH-induced behavioral sensitization in either male or female rats. Moreover, PS increased the spine density in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and decreased it in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) without any alteration in the orbital frontal cortex (OFC). Similarly, AMPH administration increased spine density in the NAc and mPFC, whereas a decrease was observed in the OFC. However, PS prevented the drug-induced alterations in the spine density observed in controls. In sum, PS modulated juvenile behavior and altered brain morphology without influencing AMPH-induced behavioral sensitization substantially.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arif Muhammad
- Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alta., Canada.
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Abstract
Obesity is fast becoming the scourge of our time. It is one of the biggest causes of death and disease in the industrialized world, and affects as many as 32% of adults and 17% of children in the USA, considered one of the world's fattest nations. It can also cost countries billions of dollars per annum in direct and indirect care, latest estimates putting the USA bill for obesity-related costs at $147 billion in 2008. It is becoming clear that the pathophysiology of obesity is vastly more complicated than the simple equation of energy in minus energy out. A combination of genetics, sex, perinatal environment and life-style factors can influence diet and energy metabolism. In this regard, psychological stress can have significant long-term impact upon the propensity to gain and maintain weight. In this review, we will discuss the ability of psychological stress and ultimately glucocorticoids (GCs) to alter appetite regulation and metabolism. We will specifically focus on (i) GC regulation of appetite and adiposity, (ii) the apparent sexual dimorphism in stress effects on obesity and (iii) the ability of early life stress to programme obesity in the long term.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah J Spencer
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Monash UniversityMelbourne, Vic., Australia.
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Van Waes V, Darnaudéry M, Marrocco J, Gruber SH, Talavera E, Mairesse J, Van Camp G, Casolla B, Nicoletti F, Mathé AA, Maccari S, Morley-Fletcher S. Impact of early life stress on alcohol consumption and on the short- and long-term responses to alcohol in adolescent female rats. Behav Brain Res 2011; 221:43-9. [PMID: 21376087 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2011.02.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2011] [Accepted: 02/22/2011] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
We examined the interaction between early life stress and vulnerability to alcohol in female rats exposed to prenatal restraint stress (PRS rats). First we studied the impact of PRS on ethanol preference during adolescence. PRS slightly increased ethanol preference per se, but abolished the effect of social isolation on ethanol preference. We then studied the impact of PRS on short- and long-term responses to ethanol focusing on behavioral and neurochemical parameters related to depression/anxiety. PRS or unstressed adolescent female rats received 10% ethanol in the drinking water for 4 weeks from PND30 to PND60. At PND60, the immobility time in the forced-swim test did not differ between PRS and unstressed rats receiving water alone. Ethanol consumption had no effect in unstressed rats, but significantly reduced the immobility time in PRS rats. In contrast, a marked increase in the immobility time was seen after 5 weeks of ethanol withdrawal only in unstressed rats. Hippocampal levels of neuropeptide Y (NPY) and mGlu1a metabotropic glutamate receptors were increased at the end of ethanol treatment only in unstressed rats. Ethanol treatment had no effect on levels of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) in the hippocampus, striatum, and prefrontal cortex of both groups of rats. After ethanol withdrawal, hippocampal levels of mGlu1 receptors were higher in unstressed rats, but lower in PRS rats, whereas NPY and CRH levels were similar in the two groups of rats. These data indicate that early life stress has a strong impact on the vulnerability and responsiveness to ethanol consumption during adolescence.
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Affiliation(s)
- V Van Waes
- NeuroPlasticity Team, UMR 8576, Functional and Structural Glycobiology Unit, CNRS/University Lille North of France, 59655 Villeneuve d'Ascq, France
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Effect of prenatal stress on alcohol preference and sensitivity to chronic alcohol exposure in male rats. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2011; 214:197-208. [PMID: 20101392 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-009-1765-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2009] [Accepted: 12/21/2009] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE In rats, prenatal restraint stress (PRS) induces persistent behavioral and neurobiological alterations leading to a greater consumption of psychostimulants during adulthood. However, little is known about alcohol vulnerability in this animal model. OBJECTIVES We examined in adolescent and adult male Sprague Dawley rats the long-lasting impact of PRS exposure on alcohol consumption. METHODS PRS rats were subjected to a prenatal stress (three daily 45-min sessions of restraint stress to the mothers during the last 10 days of pregnancy). Alcohol preference was assessed in a two-bottle choice paradigm (alcohol 2.5%, 5%, or 10% versus water), in both naïve adolescent rats and adult rats previously exposed to a chronic alcohol treatment. Behavioral indices associated with incentive motivation for alcohol were investigated. Finally, plasma levels of transaminases (marker of hepatic damages) and ΔFosB levels in the nucleus accumbens (a potential molecular switch for addiction) were evaluated following the chronic alcohol exposure. RESULTS Alcohol preference was not affected by PRS. Contrary to our expectations, stressed and unstressed rats did not display signs of compulsive alcohol consumption. The consequences of the alcohol exposure on locomotor reactivity and on transaminase levels were more prominent in PRS group. Similarly, PRS potentiated alcohol-induced ΔFosB levels in the nucleus accumbens. CONCLUSION Our data suggest that negative events occurring in utero do not modulate alcohol preference in male rats but potentiate chronic alcohol-induced molecular neuroadaptation in the brain reward circuitry. Further studies are needed to determine whether the exacerbated ΔFosB upregulation in PRS rats could be extended to other reinforcing stimuli.
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Frye CA, Paris JJ, Osborne DM, Campbell JC, Kippin TE. Prenatal Stress Alters Progestogens to Mediate Susceptibility to Sex-Typical, Stress-Sensitive Disorders, such as Drug Abuse: A Review. Front Psychiatry 2011; 2:52. [PMID: 22022315 PMCID: PMC3195272 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2011.00052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2011] [Accepted: 09/10/2011] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Maternal-offspring interactions begin prior to birth. Experiences of the mother during gestation play a powerful role in determining the developmental programming of the central nervous system. In particular, stress during gestation alters developmental programming of the offspring resulting in susceptibility to sex-typical and stress-sensitive neurodevelopmental, neuropsychiatric, and neurodegenerative disorders. However, neither these effects, nor the underlying mechanisms, are well understood. Our hypothesis is that allopregnanolone, during gestation, plays a particularly vital role in mitigating effects of stress on the developing fetus and may mediate, in part, alterations apparent throughout the lifespan. Specifically, altered balance between glucocorticoids and progestogens during critical periods of development (stemming from psychological, immunological, and/or endocrinological stressors during gestation) may permanently influence behavior, brain morphology, and/or neuroendocrine-sensitive processes. 5α-reduced progestogens are integral in the developmental programming of sex-typical, stress-sensitive, and/or disorder-relevant phenotypes. Prenatal stress (PNS) may alter these responses and dysregulate allopregnanolone and its normative effects on stress axis function. As an example of a neurodevelopmental, neuropsychiatric, and/or neurodegenerative process, this review focuses on responsiveness to drugs of abuse, which is sensitive to PNS and progestogen milieu. This review explores the notion that allopregnanolone may effect, or be influenced by, PNS, with consequences for neurodevelopmental-, neuropsychiatric-, and/or neurodegenerative- relevant processes, such as addiction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cheryl A Frye
- Department of Psychology, University at Albany-State University of New York Albany, NY, USA
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Sithisarn T, Bada HS, Dai H, Randall DC, Legan SJ. Effects of perinatal cocaine exposure on open field behavior and the response to corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) in rat offspring. Brain Res 2010; 1370:136-44. [PMID: 21075083 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2010.11.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2010] [Revised: 10/05/2010] [Accepted: 11/08/2010] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Previous reports indicate that prenatal cocaine exposure alters specific behaviors and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) function in the offspring. In most previous studies, cocaine was given via subcutaneous injections. However intravenous administration more closely mimics human cocaine abuse during pregnancy. Therefore, we investigated the effects of prenatal cocaine exposure via intravenous injection to the mothers on open field behavior and HPA axis function of the offspring. We hypothesized that prenatal cocaine exposure decreases immobility in a novel environment, and enhances the HPA response to stress. Dams received cocaine (COC) or vehicle (control, CON) intravenously from gestation day 8 to postnatal day (PD) 5. Behaviors were recorded in the open field on PD 28 (weanlings). As expected, perinatally cocaine-exposed offspring spent less time immobile and had a longer latency to entering the center zone. No other behavioral activities were different between the groups. On PD 43-50, adolescent male and female offspring received either corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) or saline intravenously. Plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and corticosterone (CORT) levels were determined before, and up to 60 min after injection. COC-exposed offspring of both sexes had higher basal CORT levels. Prenatal cocaine enhanced the CORT response to CRH/saline injections up to 60 min in males but not in females. These novel results show that perinatal administration of cocaine in a manner that most closely mimics human cocaine use has long-term effects on the offspring's behavioral response to stress and on HPA axis functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thitinart Sithisarn
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Kentucky, Chandler Medical Center, Lexington, KY 40536, USA.
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Zhao W, Becker JB. Sensitization enhances acquisition of cocaine self-administration in female rats: estradiol further enhances cocaine intake after acquisition. Horm Behav 2010; 58:8-12. [PMID: 19769978 PMCID: PMC3056177 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2009.09.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2009] [Revised: 08/26/2009] [Accepted: 09/10/2009] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Cocaine self-administration in rodents has been used widely as a preclinical model of cocaine use in humans. In laboratory animals, estradiol enhances behavioral sensitization to cocaine and the acquisition of cocaine self-administration in female rats. The rewarding effect of cocaine has been shown to be enhanced following behavioral sensitization in male rats. This experiment examined whether behavioral sensitization to cocaine would promote cocaine-taking behavior in female rats, and whether estradiol could further modulate cocaine-taking behavior in cocaine-sensitized rats. Ovariectomized female rats were pretreated with either cocaine or saline for 4 days per week for 3 weeks. Self-administration sessions started 2 weeks after the last dose of drug. Female Sprague-Dawley rats received either estradiol or oil 30 min prior to the start of each session and self-administration was carried out 5 days per week for 4 weeks. The dose of cocaine self-administered each week was as follows (in mg/kg/infusion): week 1, 0.1; week 2, 0.1; week 3, 0.15; and week 4, 0.4. The rats that received cocaine pretreatment took fewer days to acquire cocaine self-administration and took more cocaine than rats that received saline pretreatment. Estradiol enhanced cocaine intake during the last six self-administration sessions after acquisition but did not affect acquisition of self-administration at the lowest doses of cocaine used. In conclusion, cocaine sensitization promotes the acquisition of cocaine self-administration in female rats. Furthermore, prior cocaine experience is more powerful than estradiol at enhancing acquisition, while estradiol enhances intake of cocaine after acquisition of self-administration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Zhao
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Jill B. Becker
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience Institute, Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- Corresponding author. 1050 Molecular & Behavioral Neuroscience Institute, 205 Zina Pitcher Place, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. Fax: +1 734 647 4130. (J.B. Becker)
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Kentner AC, McLeod SA, Field EF, Pittman QJ. Sex-dependent effects of neonatal inflammation on adult inflammatory markers and behavior. Endocrinology 2010; 151:2689-99. [PMID: 20392837 PMCID: PMC3524265 DOI: 10.1210/en.2009-1101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Inflammatory molecules, such as cyclooxygenase (COX), a prostaglandin synthetic enzyme, have been identified as a marker of depressive symptomology. Previously, we have observed elevated basal COX-2 expression in the hypothalamus of adult male rats treated neonatally with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), which might suggest a phenotype for disrupted hedonic behavior, a symptom of depression. However, COX-2 and its contribution to the expression of anhedonic behavior has not been investigated in these males or in female rats across the estrous cycle, which is the purpose of the current work. Here, we examine the effects of a neonatal LPS challenge or saline on the sucrose preference test as a measure of anhedonia, and hypothalamic COX-2 expression, in adult male and freely cycling female rats. Our data indicate a sex difference in that neonatal LPS at postnatal d 14 causes elevated basal expression of hypothalamic COX-2 in male, but not in female, rats. Additionally, baseline sucrose preference in male and female rats was unaltered as a function of neonatal LPS treatment or estrous cycle stage. In both male and female animals, 50 microg/kg LPS in adulthood caused elevated plasma IL-6 and hypothalamic COX-2 expression in neonatally saline-treated rats but significantly less so in neonatally LPS-treated rats of both sexes; this neonatal programming was not evident for sucrose preference or for total fluid intake (even after much higher doses of LPS). Our data are suggestive of a dissociation between inflammation and anhedonic behavior and a differential effect of neonatal inflammation in males and females.
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Affiliation(s)
- A C Kentner
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, 3330 Hospital Drive N.W., Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 4N1.
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Gillies GE, McArthur S. Estrogen actions in the brain and the basis for differential action in men and women: a case for sex-specific medicines. Pharmacol Rev 2010; 62:155-98. [PMID: 20392807 PMCID: PMC2879914 DOI: 10.1124/pr.109.002071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 511] [Impact Index Per Article: 34.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The classic view of estrogen actions in the brain was confined to regulation of ovulation and reproductive behavior in the female of all mammalian species studied, including humans. Burgeoning evidence now documents profound effects of estrogens on learning, memory, and mood as well as neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative processes. Most data derive from studies in females, but there is mounting recognition that estrogens play important roles in the male brain, where they can be generated from circulating testosterone by local aromatase enzymes or synthesized de novo by neurons and glia. Estrogen-based therapy therefore holds considerable promise for brain disorders that affect both men and women. However, as investigations are beginning to consider the role of estrogens in the male brain more carefully, it emerges that they have different, even opposite, effects as well as similar effects in male and female brains. This review focuses on these differences, including sex dimorphisms in the ability of estradiol to influence synaptic plasticity, neurotransmission, neurodegeneration, and cognition, which, we argue, are due in a large part to sex differences in the organization of the underlying circuitry. There are notable sex differences in the incidence and manifestations of virtually all central nervous system disorders, including neurodegenerative disease (Parkinson's and Alzheimer's), drug abuse, anxiety, and depression. Understanding the cellular and molecular basis of sex differences in brain physiology and responses to estrogen and estrogen mimics is, therefore, vitally important for understanding the nature and origins of sex-specific pathological conditions and for designing novel hormone-based therapeutic agents that will have optimal effectiveness in men or women.
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Affiliation(s)
- Glenda E Gillies
- Centre for Neuroscience, Department of Medicine, Hammersmith Hospital, Imperial College Faculty of Medicine, DuCane Road, London W12ONN, UK.
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Staging perspectives in neurodevelopmental aspects of neuropsychiatry: agents, phases and ages at expression. Neurotox Res 2010; 18:287-305. [PMID: 20237881 DOI: 10.1007/s12640-010-9162-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2010] [Revised: 02/08/2010] [Accepted: 02/08/2010] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Neurodevelopmental risk factors have assumed a critical role in prevailing notions concerning the etiopathogenesis of neuropsychiatric disorders. Staging, diagnostic elements at which phase of disease is determined, provides a means of conceptualizing the degree and extent of factors affecting brain development trajectories, but is concurrently specified through the particular interactions of genes and environment unique to each individual case. For present purposes, staging perspectives in neurodevelopmental aspects of the disease processes are considered from conditions giving rise to neurodevelopmental staging in affective states, adolescence, dopamine disease states, and autism spectrum disorders. Three major aspects influencing the eventual course of individual developmental trajectories appear to possess an essential determinant influence upon outcome: (i) the type of agent that interferes with brain development, whether chemical, immune system activating or absent (anoxia/hypoxia), (ii) the phase of brain development at which the agent exerts disruption, whether prenatal, postnatal, or adolescent, and (iii) the age of expression of structural and functional abnormalities. Clinical staging may be assumed at any or each developmental phase. The present perspective offers both a challenge to bring further order to diagnosis, intervention, and prognosis and a statement regarding the extreme complexities and interwoven intricacies of epigenetic factors, biomarkers, and neurobehavioral entities that aggravate currents notions of the neuropsychiatric disorders.
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Mignogna P, Viggiano D. Brain distribution of genes related to changes in locomotor activity. Physiol Behav 2010; 99:618-26. [PMID: 20138074 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2010.01.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2009] [Revised: 11/19/2009] [Accepted: 01/26/2010] [Indexed: 02/09/2023]
Abstract
The relationship between genes and behavior, and particularly the hyperactive behavior, is clearly not linear nor monotonic. To address this problem, a database of the locomotor behavior obtained from thousands of mutant mice has been previously retrieved from the literature. Data showed that the percent of genes in the genome related to locomotor hyperactivity is probably more than 1.56%. These genes do not belong to a single neurotransmitter system or biochemical pathway. Indeed, they are probably required for the correct development of a specific neuronal network necessary to decrease locomotor activity. The present paper analyzes the brain expression pattern of the genes whose deletion is accompanied by changes in locomotor behavior. Using literature data concerning knockout mice, 46 genes whose deletion was accompanied by increased locomotor behavior, 24 genes related to decreased locomotor behavior and 23 genes not involved in locomotor behavior (but important for other brain functions) have been identified. These three groups of genes belonged to overlapping neurotransmitter systems or cellular functions. Therefore, we postulated that a better predictor of the locomotor behavior resulting from gene deletion might be the brain expression pattern. To this aim we correlated the brain expression of the genes and the locomotor activity resulting from the deletion of the same genes, using two databases (Allen Brain Atlas and SymAtlas). The results showed that the deletion of genes with higher expression level in the brain had higher probability to be accompanied by increased behavioral activity. Moreover the genes that were accompanied by locomotor hyperactivity when deleted, were more expressed in the cerebral cortex, amygdala and hippocampus compared to the genes unrelated to locomotor activity. Therefore, the prediction of the behavioral effect of a gene should take into consideration its brain distribution. Moreover, data confirmed that genes highly expressed in the brain are more likely to induce hyperactivity when deleted. Finally, it is suggested that gene mutations linked to specific behavioral abnormalities (e.g. inattention) might probably be associated to hyperactivity if the same gene has elevated brain expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pasquale Mignogna
- Department of Health Sciences, University of Molise, Campobasso, 86100, Italy
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