Juvenile ethanol exposure increases rewarding properties of cocaine and morphine in adult DBA/2J mice.

Convergent data showed that ethanol exposure during adolescence can alter durably ethanol-related behaviour at adulthood. However, the consequences of juvenile ethanol exposure on the reinforcing effects of other drugs of abuse remain unclear. In the present work, we evaluated in adult male DBA/2J mice the effects of early ethanol exposure on the sensitivity to the incentive effects of cocaine and morphine, and on extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activation in response to cocaine.

Working conditions and psychosocial risk factors of employees in French electricity and gas company customer support departments.

Objective: Little is known about the real impact of working conditions on the health of call center employees. The aim of this article is to describe the working conditions of French electricity and gas company customer service teams, especially those spending more than 75% of their working time handling calls in order to determine their subjective experience of their work and identify situations at risk of psychosocial constraints.

Methods: A cross-sectional study using a self-completion questionnaire was conducted on a representative sample of 2,000 employees working in customer service centers.

Involvement of alpha1-adrenoceptors in conditioned place preference supported by nicotine in rats.

Rationale: The noradrenergic system might be a critical mediator of psychostimulants and opiates hedonic value.

Objectives: The objective of this study is to evaluate the involvement of alpha1-adrenoceptors (alpha1-ARs) in nicotine incentive learning.

Materials And Methods: Rats, subjected to an unbiased conditioned place preference (CPP) procedure, received eight 30-min alternating nicotine (0.

Differential involvement of the endocannabinoid system in short- and long-term expression of incentive learning supported by nicotine in rats.

Rationale: We previously reported that the CB1 cannabinoid receptor antagonist, rimonabant, impaired the acquisition and the short-term (24 h), but not long-term (3 weeks), expression of conditioned place preference (CPP) induced by nicotine in rats.

Objective: To assess the time interval of efficacy of a single pretest injection of rimonabant to abolish nicotine-CPP, and the effects of chronic CB1 receptor blockade on long-term expression of nicotine-CPP.

Materials And Methods: Wistar rats were conditioned to nicotine (0.

Effects of melatonin and agomelatine in anxiety-related procedures in rats: interaction with diazepam.

The anxiolytic potential of melatonin and agomelatine, a potent MT(1/2) receptor agonist, and their combined effects with diazepam, were investigated in rats using the punished drinking test, the safety signal withdrawal operant paradigm, the elevated-plus-maze and hypophagia-induced novelty. In the punished drinking test, evening injections of melatonin (80 mg/kg, IP, but not 20 and 40 mg/kg) and agomelatine (40 mg/kg, IP) increased the number of foot shocks received. However, neither melatonin (40-80 mg/kg) nor agomelatine (20-40 mg/kg) released response suppression during the period associated with the safety signal withdrawal and affected rats' behaviour in the elevated-plus-maze.