海洛因成瘾大白鼠中脑腹侧被盖区超微结构变化的研究

目的　模仿人类吸毒成瘾方式建立海洛因成瘾动物模型 ,研究其中脑腹侧被盖区超微结构改变 ,为深入研究海洛因成瘾神经生物学、行为学、神经药理学、成瘾戒断治疗等奠定基础。方法　采用递增法人为建立海洛因成瘾动物模型 ,设立对照组和模型组 ,取两组动物中脑腹侧被盖区于电镜下观察超微结构改变。结果　海洛因成瘾大白鼠中脑腹侧被盖区神经元胞体、轴突、树突都出现变性、坏死、调亡等超微病理结构改变。正常对照组电镜超微影像正常。结论　海洛因成瘾大鼠脑组织出现广泛性、多发性损害 ,且以变性为主 ,神经元凋亡是海洛因成瘾致脑神经元死亡的主要形式。     

The topical organization of the afferents to the caudatoputamen of the rat. A horseradish peroxidase study

The aim of the present study was to assess (1) whether the various brain areas known to send projections to the neostriatum of the rat (neocortex, thalamus, substantia nigra, ventral tegmental area and dorsal raphe nucleus) project to all parts of this structure, and (2) whether the subcortical projections show a topical organization. For these purposes, small deposits of horseradish peroxidase were delivered by iontophoretic application, so that the whole extent of the caudatoputamen could be covered in a total of 40 rats.Labeled cortical cells were present mainly in lamina V, and showed a roughly topographical organization. Small numbers of labelled cells were observed in the basal nucleus of the amygdala after injections into the dorsal and central parts of the caudatoputamen. The cells of origin of thalamic afferents to the neostriatum were found not only in the intralaminar nuclei, but also in various other anterior, ‘midline’, and posterior nuclei (e.g. the medial part of the medial geniculate body). In the thalamostriatal projection a topical organization was demonstrated, consisting of oblique thalamic zones, which cross the borders of several thalamic nuclei and project to different parts of the neostriatum. In the substantia nigra and ventral tegmental area many retrogradely labelled cells were present. This nigrostriatal projection appears to be organized along an oblique longitudinal neostriatal axis. The nucleus raphes dorsalis was labelled most abundantly after caudal and ventrolateral injections into the caudatoputamen.It is concluded that, despite the homogeneous cytoarchitectonic structure of the caudatoputamen in the rat, this brain area is rather heterogeneous as regards its afferent connections. In fact each part of the neostriatum receives a specific and unique combination of afferents. The main changes in the input of the neostriatum appear to occur along an oblique longitudinal axis, from the most rostromedial and dorsal part to the caudolateral and ventral part. Such a topographical organization suggests that the neostriatum is likely to be involved in very complex integrative functions involving several brain areas.     

Is there a non-dopaminergic nigrostriatal pathway?

Sixteen per cent of the substantia nigra cell bodies normally labeled from the injection of a fluorescent retrograde tracer in the caudate-putamen complex could still be labeled by the same procedure after multiple intracisternal 6-hydroxydopamine treatments that depleted dopamine levels in the caudate-putamen complex to 1.0% of control. However, the demonstration of glyoxylic-acid-induced catecholamine histofluorescence in tissue from these lesioned rats revealed that many of the surviving retrogradely-labeled substantia nigra cell bodies still contained dopamine. The persistence of some dopamine in the substantia nigra of the lesioned animals was confirmed biochemically. Therefore, retrograde tracing in 6-hydroxydopamine lesioned rats overestimated the extent of the non-dopaminergic nigrostriatal tract.The simultaneous combination of retrograde fluorescent tracing and catecholamine histofluorescence in unlesioned animals revealed that only 5% or less of the substantia nigra cell bodies retrogradelylabeled from the caudate-putamen complex were without catecholamine fluorescence. These apparently non-dopaminergic nigrostriatal cells were located primarily in the ventral tegmental area, substantia nigra pars reticulata and extreme medial edge of the substantia nigra pars compacta.     

Brain region specific modulation of ethanol-induced depression of GABAergic neurons in the brain reward system by the nicotine receptor antagonist mecamylamine

The mechanisms underlying ethanol-induced activation of the mesolimbic dopamine system are not fully understood, but increased extracellular dopamine in the nucleus accumbens (nAc) has been shown to involve nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs). Basal activity of dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) is under the influence of GABAergic neurotransmission, and the aim of this study was to characterize the involvement of nAChRs in mediating acute ethanol effects on GABAergic activity in subregions of the brain reward system. Multi-electrode in vivo recordings were made in the VTA and nAc of awake and behaving C57BL6/J mice receiving intraperitoneal injections of saline or ethanol (2.0 g/kg), combined with, or without, pre-injection of the non-competitive nAChR antagonist mecamylamine (1.0 mg/kg). Ethanol significantly decreased the activity of quinpirole-insensitive slow-spiking and fast-spiking units in both the VTA and the nAc as compared to saline injection. Pre-treatment with mecamylamine inhibited the rate-inhibiting properties of ethanol in the VTA, but not in the nAc. The data presented here show that ethanol depresses the activity of quinpirole-insensitive, putative GABAergic neurons, in the mesolimbic dopamine system of mice, and that nAChRs contribute to this modulation. This finding, taken together with previous microdialysis studies, supports an involvement of GABAergic neurons and nAChRs in ethanol's interaction with the mesolimbic dopamine system.     

Orexin/hypocretin role in reward: implications for opioid and other addictions

Addiction is a devastating disorder that affects 15.3 million people worldwide. While prevalent, few effective treatments exist. Orexin receptors have been proposed as a potential target for anti-craving medications. Orexins, also known as hypocretins, are neuropeptides produced in neurons of the lateral and dorsomedial hypothalamus and perifornical area, which project widely throughout the brain. The absence of orexins in rodents and humans leads to narcolepsy. However, orexins also have an established role in reward seeking. This review will discuss some of the original studies describing the roles of the orexins in reward seeking as well as specific works that were presented at the 2013 International Narcotics Research Conference. Orexin signalling can promote drug-induced plasticity of glutamatergic synapses onto dopamine neurons of the ventral tegmental area (VTA), a brain region implicated in motivated behaviour. Additional evidence suggests that orexin signalling can also promote drug seeking by initiating an endocannabinoid-mediated synaptic depression of GABAergic inputs to the VTA, and thereby disinhibiting dopaminergic neurons. Orexin neurons co-express the inhibitory opioid peptide dynorphin. It has been proposed that orexin in the VTA may not mediate reward per se, but rather occludes the ‘anti-reward’ effects of dynorphin. Finally, orexin signalling in the prefrontal cortex and the central amygdala is implicated in reinstatement of reward seeking. This review will highlight recent work describing the role of orexin signalling in cellular processes underlying addiction-related behaviours and propose novel hypotheses for the mechanisms by which orexin signalling may impart drug seeking.

LINKED ARTICLES

This article is part of a themed section on Opioids: New Pathways to Functional Selectivity. To view the other articles in this section visit http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/bph.2015.172.issue-2     

Adenosine A2A receptors in ventral striatum, hypothalamus and nociceptive circuitry implications for drug addiction, sleep and pain

Adenosine A2A receptors localized in the dorsal striatum are considered as a new target for the development of antiparkinsonian drugs. Co-administration of A2A receptor antagonists has shown a significant improvement of the effects of l-DOPA. The present review emphasizes the possible application of A2A receptor antagonists in pathological conditions other than parkinsonism, including drug addiction, sleep disorders and pain. In addition to the dorsal striatum, the ventral striatum (nucleus accumbens) contains a high density of A2A receptors, which presynaptically and postsynaptically regulate glutamatergic transmission in the cortical glutamatergic projections to the nucleus accumbens. It is currently believed that molecular adaptations of the cortico-accumbens glutamatergic synapses are involved in compulsive drug seeking and relapse. Here we review recent experimental evidence suggesting that A2A antagonists could become new therapeutic agents for drug addiction. Morphological and functional studies have identified lower levels of A2A receptors in brain areas other than the striatum, such as the ventrolateral preoptic area of the hypothalamus, where adenosine plays an important role in sleep regulation. Although initially believed to be mostly dependent on A1 receptors, here we review recent studies that demonstrate that the somnogenic effects of adenosine are largely mediated by hypothalamic A2A receptors. A2A)receptor antagonists could therefore be considered as a possible treatment for narcolepsy and other sleep-related disorders. Finally, nociception is another adenosine-regulated neural function previously thought to mostly involve A1 receptors. Although there is some conflicting literature on the effects of agonists and antagonists, which may partly be due to the lack of selectivity of available drugs, the studies in A2A receptor knockout mice suggest that A2A receptor antagonists might have some therapeutic potential in pain states, in particular where high intensity stimuli are prevalent.     

Modulators in concert for cognition: modulator interactions in the prefrontal cortex

Research on the regulation and function of ascending noradrenergic, dopaminergic, serotonergic, and cholinergic systems has focused on the organization and function of individual systems. In contrast, evidence describing co-activation and interactions between multiple neuromodulatory systems has remained scarce. However, commonalities in the anatomical organization of these systems and overlapping evidence concerning the post-synaptic effects of neuromodulators strongly suggest that these systems are recruited in concert; they influence each other and simultaneously modulate their target circuits. Therefore, evidence on the regulatory and functional interactions between these systems is considered essential for revealing the role of neuromodulators. This postulate extends to contemporary neurobiological hypotheses of major neuropsychiatric disorders. These hypotheses have focused largely on aberrations in the integrity or regulation of individual ascending modulatory systems, with little regard for the likely possibility that dysregulation in multiple ascending neuromodulatory systems and their interactions contribute essentially to the symptoms of these disorders. This review will paradigmatically focus on neuromodulator interactions in the PFC and be further constrained by an additional focus on their role in cognitive functions. Recent evidence indicates that individual neuromodulators, in addition to their general state-setting or gating functions, encode specific cognitive operations, further substantiating the importance of research concerning the parallel recruitment of neuromodulator systems and interactions between these systems.     

Mechanical stimulation of cervical vertebrae modulates the discharge activity of ventral tegmental area neurons and dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens

BackgroundGrowing evidence suggests that mechanical stimulation modulates substrates in the supraspinal central nervous system (CNS) outside the canonical somatosensory circuits.Objective/Methods: We evaluate mechanical stimulation applied to the cervical spine at the C7-T1 level (termed “MStim”) on neurons and neurotransmitter release in the mesolimbic dopamine (DA) system, an area implicated in reward and motivation, utilizing electrophysiological, pharmacological, neurochemical and immunohistochemical techniques in Wistar rats.ResultsLow frequency (45–80 Hz), but not higher frequency (115 Hz), MStim inhibited the firing rate of ventral tegmental area (VTA) GABA neurons (52.8% baseline; 450 s) while increasing the firing rate of VTA DA neurons (248% baseline; 500 s). Inactivation of the nucleus accumbens (NAc), or systemic or in situ antagonism of delta opioid receptors (DORs), blocked MStim inhibition of VTA GABA neuron firing rate. MStim enhanced both basal (178.4% peak increase at 60 min) and evoked DA release in NAc (135.0% peak increase at 40 min), which was blocked by antagonism of DORs or acetylcholine release in the NAc. MStim enhanced c-FOS expression in the NAc, but inhibited total expression in the VTA, and induced translocation of DORs to neuronal membranes in the NAc.ConclusionThese findings demonstrate that MStim modulates neuron firing and DA release in the mesolimbic DA system through endogenous opioids and acetylcholine in the NAc. These findings demonstrate the need to explore more broadly the extra-somatosensory effects of peripheral mechanoreceptor activation and the specific role for mechanoreceptor-based therapies in the treatment of substance abuse.     

The biology of Nociceptin/Orphanin FQ (N/OFQ) related to obesity,stress, anxiety,mood, and drug dependence

Nociceptin/Orphanin FQ (N/OFQ) is a 17 amino acid peptide that was deorphanized in 1995. The generation of specific agonists, antagonists and receptor deficient mice and rats has enabled progress in elucidating the biological functions of N/OFQ. Additionally, radio-imaging technologies have been advanced for investigation of this system in animals and humans. Together with traditional neurobehavioral techniques, these tools have been utilized to identify the biological significance of the N/OFQ system and its interacting partners. The present review focuses on the role of N/OFQ in the regulation of feeding, body weight homeostasis, stress, the stress-related psychiatric disorders of depression and anxiety, and in drug and alcohol dependence. Critical evaluation of the current scientific preclinical literature suggests that small molecule modulators of nociceptin opioid peptide receptors (NOP) might be useful in the treatment of diseases related to these biological functions. In particular, the literature data suggest that antagonism of NOP receptors will produce anti-obesity and antidepressant activities in humans. However, there are also contradictory data discussed. The current literature on the role of N/OFQ in anxiety and addiction, on the other hand points primarily to a role of agonist modulation being potentially therapeutic. Some drug-like molecules that function either as agonists or antagonists of NOP receptors have been optimized for human clinical study to test some of these hypotheses. The discovery of PET ligands for NOP receptors, combined with the pharmacological tools and burgeoning preclinical data set discussed here bodes well for a rapid advancement of clinical understanding and potential therapeutic benefit.