The effects of moderate prenatal alcohol exposure on performance in hippocampal-sensitive spatial memory and anxiety tasks by adult male and female rat offspring.

Moderate prenatal alcohol exposure (mPAE) results in structural alterations to the hippocampus. Previous studies have reported impairments in hippocampal-sensitive tasks, but have not compared performance between male and female animals. In the present study, performance in hippocampal-sensitive spatial memory and anxiety behavior tests were compared across adult male and female saccharin (SACC) control mPAE Long-Evans rat offspring.

Anxiety and Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis: focus on 5-HT and CRF systems in 3xTg-AD and TgF344-AD animal models.

Dementia remains one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in older adults. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common type of dementia, affecting over 55 million people worldwide. AD is characterized by distinct neurobiological changes, including amyloid-beta protein deposits and tau neurofibrillary tangles, which cause cognitive decline and subsequent behavioral changes, such as distress, insomnia, depression, and anxiety.

Blocking serotonin 2A (5-HT) receptors attenuates the acquisition of methamphetamine-induced conditioned place preference in adult female rats.

Methamphetamine withdrawal can induce intense cravings leading to relapse. Contexts/cues paired with chronic methamphetamine use develop incentive motivational properties, promoting future drug-seeking and taking behavior. Research has shown that, in adult male rats, the selective 5-HT receptor antagonist M100907 attenuates the acquisition of methamphetamine-induced conditioned place preference (CPP), a measure that examines conditioned associations between the rewarding properties of drugs and contexts.

Methamphetamine and social rewards interact to produce enhanced conditioned place preference in male adolescent rats.

Elucidating the influence of social context on drug reward is critical for understanding substance use disorders. Adolescents demonstrate enhanced sensitivity to drug and social rewards. However, the extent to which methamphetamine interacts with social reward in adolescents has not been thoroughly examined.

Antagonizing serotonin 2A (5-HT) receptors attenuates methamphetamine-induced reward and blocks methamphetamine-induced anxiety-like behaviors in adult male rats.

Background: Methamphetamine is a highly addictive and abused psychostimulant. Symptoms of methamphetamine withdrawal including drug craving and anxiety that can drive relapse. Currently, there is no FDA approved treatment for methamphetamine use disorder, highlighting the need for research examining the neural mechanisms underlying psychostimulant-induced behaviors.