Cognitive Enhancer Donepezil Attenuates Heroin-Seeking Behavior Induced by Cues in Rats.

Purpose: Opioid use disorder is a significant global problem. Chronic heroin use is associated with impairment of cognitive function and conscious control ability. The cholinergic system can be disrupted following heroin administration, indicating that activation of the cholinergic system may prevent chronic heroin misuse.

Chronic multiple mild stress induces sustained adverse psychological states in rats.

Adverse psychological states are stimulated by multiple types of environmental factors in human being. However, only few animal models of adverse psychological states were established by applying multiple types of stressors to mimic real conditions. A multisensory stress simulation device was designed to apply a combination of stressors to animals.

Inhibition of PLCβ1 signaling pathway regulates methamphetamine self-administration and neurotoxicity in rats.

Studies have shown that the central renin-angiotensin system is involved in neurological disorders. Our previous studies have demonstrated that angiotensin II receptor type 1 (AT1R) in the brain could be a potential target against methamphetamine (METH) use disorder. The present study was designed to investigate the underlying mechanisms of the inhibitory effect of AT1R on various behavioural effects of METH.

Reciprocal Substitution Between Methamphetamine and Heroin in Terms of Reinforcement Effects in Rats.

Heroin and methamphetamine are both popular illicit drugs in China. Previous clinical data showed that habitual users of either heroin or methamphetamine abuse the other drug for substitution in case of unavailability of their preferred drug. The present study aimed to observe whether heroin can substitute the methamphetamine reinforcement effect in rats, and vice versa.

Increased expression of plasma hsa-miR-181a in male patients with heroin addiction use disorder.

Background: Drug addiction is an uncontrolled, chronic, and recurrent encephalopathy that presently lacks specific and characteristic biomarkers for diagnosis and treatment. As regulators of gene expression, microRNAs (miRNAs) are increasingly used for diagnostic and prognostic purposes in various disease states. Previous studies indicated that miRNAs play important roles in the development and progression of drug addictions, including addiction to methamphetamine, cocaine, alcohol, and heroin.

Huperzine A inhibits heroin-seeking behaviors induced by cue or heroin priming in rats.

Cholinergic systems modulate dopaminergic function in brain pathways are thought to mediate heroin addiction. This study investigated whether huperzine A, an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, has beneficial effects on heroin reward and heroin-seeking behavior. Rats were trained to self-administer heroin (50 μg/kg/infusion) under the fixed ratio 1 schedule for 14 days and then drug-seeking was extinguished for 10 days, after which reinstatement of drug-seeking was induced by conditioned cues or heroin priming.

Preventive and Therapeutic Effects of Astaxanthin on Depressive-Like Behaviors in High-Fat Diet and Streptozotocin-Treated Rats.

The comorbidity of diabetes and depression has a negative impact on both lifestyle and quality of life. Astaxanthin (AST) has been demonstrated to improve glucose metabolism and has antidepressant-like effects, but it is not clear whether AST has potential for preventing depression in diabetes. The aim of this study is to observe the preventive and therapeutic effects of AST on glucose metabolism or depressive-like behaviors in a diabetic rat model produced by feeding with a high-fat diet for 10 weeks followed by injection of 25 mg/kg streptozotocin (STZ).

Histone 3 lysine 9 acetylation of BRG1 in the medial prefrontal cortex is associated with heroin self‑administration in rats.

Heroin addiction is a chronic relapsing brain disorder with negative social consequences. Histone acetylation serves a role in drug‑induced behavior and neuroplasticity impairment. Brahma/SWI2‑related gene‑1 (BRG1) participates in cerebellar development, embryogenesis and transcriptional regulation of neuronal genes concurrent with histone modifications.

A Retrospective Survey of Buprenorphine Substitute Treatment With Minimal Dosage in Heroin Use Disorder.

It is widely accepted that buprenorphine maintenance treatment (BMT) with dosages above 8 mg daily is effective for patients with heroin use disorder. In this study, the authors evaluated the effectiveness of long-term BMT for heroin users in China, with dosages kept on a much smaller level. This is a retrospective observational study of 72 patients who had undergone detoxification and continued with buprenorphine maintenance between 2007 and 2016.

Dorsolateral striatal miR-134 modulates excessive methamphetamine intake in self-administering rats.

Increasing evidence indicates that excessive drug consumption is sufficient for the transition from recreational and controlled drug use to uncontrolled use and addiction. However, the underlying mechanisms are debated. Some neurobehavioral and neuroimaging evidence indicates that dorsolateral striatum (dlStr)-dependent habit learning plays a key role in excessive drug intake and the transition to addiction, but little is known about the molecular events.

Inhibition of Methamphetamine Self-Administration and Reinstatement by Central Blockade of Angiotensin II Receptor in Rats.

The molecular mechanism and treatment of methamphetamine (METH) use disorder remain unclear. The current study aimed to investigate the role of central angiotensin II receptor (ATR) in drug taking and seeking behavior associated with METH use disorder. The effect of an ATR type 1 (AT1R) antagonist, candesartan cilexetil, on the reinforcing and motivational effects of METH was first assessed using the animal model of METH self-administration (SA) and reinstatement.

The effects of early exposure to MK-801 during environmental enrichment on spatial memory, methamphetamine self-administration and cue-induced renewal in rats.

Objective: Accumulating evidence indicates an association between improved cognition and the early introduction of environmental enrichment (EE). The beneficial effect of EE has also been examined in the field of methamphetamine (METH) dependence. The present study was designed to examine whether early cognitive alterations by dizocilpine (MK-801) in adolescence can impact the effect of EE on spatial memory, METH self-administration (SA), and cue-induced renewal in adulthood.

Cognitive enhancers as a treatment for heroin relapse and addiction.

Heroin addiction is a disorder that stems from maladaptive plasticity within neural circuits and produces broad cognitive deficits. Despite considerable advances in psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy for heroin relapse and addiction, effective treatments for heroin use disorder are still lacking. Increasing preclinical evidence indicates that heroin seeking behavior is persistent after withdrawal, while cognitive dysfunctions associated with chronic heroin use are an important contributing factor to risk of heroin relapse and addiction.

Support vector machine-based multivariate pattern classification of methamphetamine dependence using arterial spin labeling.

Arterial spin labeling (ASL) magnetic resonance imaging has been widely applied to identify cerebral blood flow (CBF) abnormalities in a number of brain disorders. To evaluate its significance in detecting methamphetamine (MA) dependence, this study used a multivariate pattern classification algorithm, ie, a support vector machine (SVM), to construct classifiers for discriminating MA-dependent subjects from normal controls. Forty-five MA-dependent subjects, 45 normal controls, and 36 heroin-dependent subjects were enrolled.

Hypermethylation of the κ1 opioid receptor promoter in Chinese heroin and methamphetamine addicts.

Heroin and methamphetamine (METH) addiction continues to be a major social, economic and therapeutic problem worldwide. The opioid pathway may mediate the effects of addictive drugs. However, the potential correlation between the κ1 opioid receptor (OPRK1) and drug addiction has not yet been characterized.

Microarray Analysis of Long Noncoding RNAs in Female Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy Patients.

Background/aims: Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is the most common complication of diabetes mellitus (DM). Because of its controversial pathogenesis, DPN is still not diagnosed or managed properly in most patients.

Methods: In this study, human lncRNA microarrays were used to identify the differentially expressed lncRNAs in DM and DPN patients, and some of the discovered lncRNAs were further validated in additional 78 samples by quantitative realtime PCR (qRT-PCR).

Dopamine receptor D4 promoter hypermethylation increases the risk of drug addiction.

Heroin and methylamphetamine (METH) are two addictive drugs that cause serious problems for society. Dopamine receptor D4 (DRD4), a key receptor in the dopaminergic system, may facilitate the development of drug addiction. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between the promoter methylation level of gene and drug addiction.

Contribution of the α5 GABAA receptor to the discriminative stimulus effects of propofol in rat.

Propofol as an agonist of GABAA receptor has a rewarding and discriminative stimulus effect. However, which subtype of the GABAA receptor is involved in the discriminative stimulus effects of propofol is still not clear. We observed the effects of an agonist or an antagonist of the subtype-selective GABAA receptor on discriminative stimulus effects of propofol.

promoter hypermethylation in lung squamous cell carcinoma but not in lung adenocarcinoma.

Aberrant DNA methylation is associated with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), suggesting that gene promoter methylation may be a potential biomarker for the detection or risk prediction of NSCLC. The present study aimed to evaluate the potential usage of angiotensin II receptor type 1 () methylation in two major pathologic subtypes: Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) and lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC). Quantitative methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction was used to investigate the effect of promoter methylation in the tumor and the paired adjacent non-tumor tissue samples from 42 patients with LUSC, and 69 with LUAD.

Lower Fractional Anisotropy in the Gray Matter of Amygdala-Hippocampus-Nucleus Accumbens Circuit in Methamphetamine Users: an In Vivo Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study.

The basolateral amygdala (BLA), hippocampal ventral subiculum, and nucleus accumbens (NAc) comprise the amygdala-hippocampus-NAc (AHN) circuit, which is implicated in drug seeking and reward. The goal of this study was to evaluate microstructural changes and relevant clinical features of the AHN circuit gray matter (GM) in methamphetamine (MA) users using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Thirty MA users and 30 age-matched normal volunteers underwent 3-T MR imaging to obtain structural T1-weighted images and DTI data.

Gene Expression Profiling Identifies Downregulation of the Neurotrophin-MAPK Signaling Pathway in Female Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy Patients.

Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is a common complication of diabetes mellitus (DM). It is not diagnosed or managed properly in the majority of patients because its pathogenesis remains controversial. In this study, human whole genome microarrays identified 2898 and 4493 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in DM and DPN patients, respectively.

N-acetylaspartylglutamate Inhibits Heroin Self-Administration and Heroin-Seeking Behaviors Induced by Cue or Priming in Rats.

Activation of presynaptic group II metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluR2/3) inhibits drug reward and drug-seeking behavior, but the role of N-acetylaspartylglutamate (NAAG), an agonist of endogenous mGluR2/3, in heroin reward and heroin-seeking behavior remained unclear. Here, we aimed to explore the effects of exogenous NAAG on heroin self-administration and heroin-seeking behavior. First, rats were trained to self-administer heroin under a fixed ratio 1 (FR1) schedule for 10 days, then received NAAG (50 or 100 μg/10 μL in each nostril) in the absence or presence of LY341495 (1 mg/kg, i.

Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase in Nucleus Accumbens Mediates Propofol Self-Administration in Rats.

Clinical and animal studies have indicated that propofol has potential for abuse, but the specific neurobiological mechanism underlying propofol reward is not fully understood. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signal transduction pathways in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) in propofol self-administration. We tested the expression of p-ERK in the NAc following the maintenance of propofol self-administration in rats.