Publications by authors named "Sebastian Ortegon"
Nicotine use is driven by pleasurable effects, but following chronic exposure, nicotine use becomes largely driven by the desire need to avoid withdrawal symptoms. Current cessation strategies focusing on alleviating withdrawal, but current cessation interventions are less effective for women than men. Also, hormone fluctuations across the menstrual cycle appear to impact use patterns, withdrawal severity, and treatment efficacy.
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- A study was conducted on male and female rats to investigate how diabetes medications interact with nicotine consumption after being placed on a high-fat diet (HFD) or regular diet (RD) for 4 weeks, followed by insulin resistance testing.
- The rats that were on the high-fat diet displayed higher nicotine intake compared to those on the regular diet, and both female and male rats showed similar insulin resistance after receiving a low dose of the diabetes medication streptozotocin (STZ).
- The findings indicated that insulin administration normalized nicotine intake in HFD-fed rats, suggesting that insulin may effectively manage excessive nicotine consumption in individuals with diabetes.
The present study assessed the sex-dependent effects of insulin resistance on the reinforcing effects of nicotine. Female and male rats received a chronic high-fat diet (HFD) or regular diet (RD) for 8 weeks. A subset of rats then received vehicle or a dose of streptozotocin (STZ; 25 mg/kg) that induces insulin resistance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPrior work in male rodents established that the medial habenula-interpeduncular nucleus (MHb-IPN) pathway modulates nicotine withdrawal. Specifically, withdrawal severity has been closely associated with inhibitory tone in the IPN via interneurons that release γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Inhibitory tone in the IPN is regulated by projections from the MHb that co-release glutamate and acetylcholine.
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