Decreased myelin-related gene expression in the nucleus accumbens during spontaneous neonatal opioid withdrawal in the absence of long-term behavioral effects in adult outbred CFW mice.

Prenatal opioid exposure is a major health concern in the United States, with the incidence of neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS) escalating in recent years. NOWS occurs upon cessation of in utero opioid exposure and is characterized by increased irritability, disrupted sleep patterns, high-pitched crying, and dysregulated feeding. The main pharmacological strategy for alleviating symptoms is treatment with replacement opioids.

Decreased myelin-related gene expression in the nucleus accumbens during spontaneous neonatal opioid withdrawal in the absence of long-term behavioral effects in adult outbred CFW mice.

Unlabelled: Prenatal opioid exposure is a major health concern in the United States, with the incidence of neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS) escalating in recent years. NOWS occurs upon cessation of opioid exposure and is characterized by increased irritability, disrupted sleep patterns, high-pitched crying, and dysregulated feeding. The main pharmacological strategy for alleviating symptoms is treatment with replacement opioids.

Assessment of Binge-Like Eating of Unsweetened vs. Sweetened Chow Pellets in BALB/c Substrains.

Binge eating disorder (BED) is defined as chronic episodes of consuming large amounts of food in less than 2 h. Binge eating disorder poses a serious public health problem, as it increases the risk of obesity, type II diabetes, and heart disease. Binge eating is a highly heritable trait; however, its genetic basis remains largely unexplored.

Zhx2 Is a Candidate Gene Underlying Oxymorphone Metabolite Brain Concentration Associated with State-Dependent Oxycodone Reward.

Understanding the pharmacogenomics of opioid metabolism and behavior is vital to therapeutic success, as mutations can dramatically alter therapeutic efficacy and addiction liability. We found robust, sex-dependent BALB/c substrain differences in oxycodone behaviors and whole brain concentration of oxycodone metabolites. BALB/cJ females showed robust state-dependent oxycodone reward learning as measured via conditioned place preference when compared with the closely related BALB/cByJ substrain.

Genetic basis of thermal nociceptive sensitivity and brain weight in a BALB/c reduced complexity cross.

Thermal nociception involves the transmission of temperature-related noxious information from the periphery to the CNS and is a heritable trait that could predict transition to persistent pain. Rodent forward genetics complement human studies by controlling genetic complexity and environmental factors, analysis of end point tissue, and validation of variants on appropriate genetic backgrounds. Reduced complexity crosses between nearly identical inbred substrains with robust trait differences can greatly facilitate unbiased discovery of novel genes and variants.