Impact of Obesity on Cardiac Autonomic System Functioning in Military Police Officers.

Introduction: Cardiac autonomic system functioning may be altered by obesity leading to cardiovascular diseases and associated complications. Military police officers are exposed to traditional and occupational risk factors for the development of CVD, however data on the cardiovascular health in this population is still scarce.

Aim: In this cross-sectional study, we investigated the impact of obesity on cardiac autonomic modulation and the hemodynamic profile in male active-duty military police officers.

Environmental novelty modulates the induction and expression of single injection-induced behavioral sensitization to morphine.

Opioid addiction is a growing public health problem, being currently considered an epidemic in the United States. Investigating the behavioral effects of opioids and the factors influencing their development becomes of major importance. In animals, the effects of drugs of abuse can be assessed using the behavioral sensitization model, which shares similar neuronal substrates with drug craving in humans.

Haloperidol (but not ziprasidone) withdrawal potentiates sensitization to the hyperlocomotor effect of cocaine in mice.

One important contributing factor in the high prevalence of drug abuse disorders seen among schizophrenic patients seems to be related to chronic treatment with typical neuroleptics. We have previously demonstrated that withdrawal from long-term treatment with the typical neuroleptic haloperidol, but not the atypical neuroleptic ziprasidone, potentiated the hyperlocomotor effect induced by a single cocaine injection and cocaine-induced conditioned place preference in mice. In the present study we investigated whether withdrawal from long-term treatment with these same neuroleptics would also modify cocaine-induced hyperlocomotion sensitization, which has been proposed as an animal model for the intensification of drug craving in cocaine addiction.