[Review on anxiolytic effect of natural small-molecule phenols].

Phenolic compounds have multiple bioactivities, such as anti-oxidant, anti-tumor, anti-bacterial, and anti-inflammatory activities. Recent literatures have demonstrated that flavonoids have a significant anti-anxiety effect on the central nervous system. In addition, studies showed that flavonoids acted as pro-drugs, which were transformed into smaller phenols through intestinal microflora.

A conjugate vaccine attenuates morphine- and heroin-induced behavior in rats.

Background: Currently approved medications for opioid addiction have shown clinical efficacy, but undesired side effects, dependence induced by the medications themselves, and low treatment compliance necessitate the need for novel therapies.

Methods: A novel morphine-keyhole limpet hemocyanin conjugate vaccine was synthesized with 6-glutarylmorphine as the hapten and a lengthened linker of 6 carbon atoms. The titer and specificity of the triggered antibody were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Two new anxiolytic phenanthrenes found in the medullae of Juncus effusus.

Six phenanthrenes, 2-methoxy-7-hydroxy-1-methyl-5-vinyl phenanthrene (1), juncusin (2), dehydroeffusol (3), juncusol (4), effusol (5), and dehydroeffusal (6), were isolated from the medullae of Juncus effusus L. Compounds 1 and 2 were identified as being new structures, and both of them showed anxiolytic activity at dosages of 10 and 2.5 mg/kg, respectively.

Phenanthrenes from Juncus effusus with anxiolytic and sedative activities.

Eight phenanthrenes, 7-carboxy-2-hydroxy-1-methyl-5-vinyl-phenanthrene (1); 2,7-dihydroxy-1-methyl-5-aldehyde-9,10-dihydrophenanthrene (2); dehydroeffusol (3); dehydrojuncusol (4); 7-carboxy-2-hydroxy-1-methyl-5-vinyl-9,10-dihydrophenanthrene (5); 8-carboxy-2-hydroxy-1-methyl-5-vinyl-9,10-dihydrophenanthrene (6); effusol (7) and juncusol (8), were isolated from the aerial part of Juncus effusus. Compounds 1 and 2 were identified as new constituents. Compounds 7 and 8 showed anxiolytic and sedative activities.

A morphine/heroin vaccine with new hapten design attenuates behavioral effects in rats.

Heroin use has seriously threatened public heath in many countries, but the existing therapies continue to have many limitations. Recently, immunotherapy has shown efficacy in some clinical studies, including vaccines against nicotine and cocaine, but no opioid vaccines have been introduced in clinical studies. The development of a novel opioid antigen designed specifically for the prevention of heroin addiction is necessary.

Glycogen synthase kinase 3β in the nucleus accumbens core is critical for methamphetamine-induced behavioral sensitization.

As a ubiquitous serine/threonine protein kinase, glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK-3β) has been considered to be important in the synaptic plasticity that underlies dopamine-related behaviors and diseases. We recently found that GSK-3β activity in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) core is critically involved in cocaine-induced behavioral sensitization. The present study further explored the association between the changes in GSK-3β activity in the NAc and the chronic administration of methamphetamine.

Anxiolytic and sedative effects of dehydroeffusol from Juncus effusus in mice.

Dehydroeffusol, a phenanthrene isolated from Juncus effusus L., possesses characteristic anxiolytic and sedative properties, as determined by an array of behavioral tests in mice. In the elevated plus-maze test, dehydroeffusol significantly increased the number of entries into the open arms and the time the mice spent in these arms in a dose-dependent manner, with a minimum effective dose of 2.

Interferon-alpha reinstates morphine-conditioned place preference through opioid receptors in rats.

Cytokine interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) is an immunomodulator and neuromodulator, which modulates central nervous system function partially by activating opioid receptors. However, the role that IFN-alpha plays in relapse to drug abuse is still largely unknown. Thus, we studied whether human recombinant INF-alpha (rIFN-alpha) would reinstate morphine-conditioned place preference (CPP) in rats.

Effects of early postnatal sibling deprivation on anxiety and vulnerability to cocaine in offspring rats.

Rationale: Early-life experience has long-term consequences on affective behavior and drug abuse in adults. While many manipulations used to study these consequences alter mother-infant interactions, the effects of sibling interactions are less well characterized.

Objectives: To examine the long-term effects of early postnatal sibling deprivation (EPSD) on anxiety-like behavior, sucrose preference and behavioral responses to cocaine in adult rats.

Role of stress in acquisition of alcohol-conditioned place preference in adolescent and adult mice.

Background: Both clinical evidence and findings from animal models demonstrate that there are differences between adolescents and adults in alcohol dependence. As stress plays a critical role in processes of alcohol addiction, we tested whether stress is involved in alcohol vulnerability differently during adolescence and adulthood in mice.

Methods: To determine whether age differences exist in the acquisition of alcohol-conditioned place preference (CPP) in mice, adolescent and adult mice were trained for CPP with different doses of alcohol (0, 0.

Sex- and age-dependent effects of early postnatal sibling deprivation on spatial learning and memory in adult rats.

In this study, we investigated the effects of early postnatal sibling deprivation (EPSD) on spatial learning and memory in adult rats. Litters were culled to one pup with its mother on postnatal day (PN) 1 or 7 and their spatial learning and memory ability were examined with Morris water maze in adult. EPSD on PN1 improved, but on PN7 impaired performance of the spatial learning task in adult female rats.

Conditioned drug reward enhances subsequent spatial learning and memory in rats.

Rationale: Chronic exposure to drugs of abuse alters neural processes that normally promote learning and memory. A context that is repeatedly paired with reinforcing drugs will acquire secondary reinforcing properties (conditioned reward). However, the effects of conditioned reward on spatial learning are unknown.

Effects of stress during reactivation on rewarding memory.

When a stabilized memory is recalled or reactivated, it becomes labile and sensitive to disruptors such as protein-synthesis inhibitors. Previous evidence demonstrates that stress modulates different aspects of memory. The role of stress during reactivation on rewarding or aversive memory is not known, however.

Clonidine attenuates morphine withdrawal and subsequent drug sensitization in rhesus monkeys.

Aim: Clonidine is an alpha2 adrenoceptor agonist that is frequently used to reduce withdrawal symptoms during opioid detoxification in humans. The long-term effects of clonidine on withdrawal symptoms and its effects on subsequent drug exposure have not been thoroughly documented. The aim of the study was to determine if clonidine administered during morphine withdrawal in rhesus monkeys produces long-lasting effects on withdrawal symptoms and alters the effects of subsequently taken drugs of abuse.