Transgenerational blunting of morphine-induced corticosterone secretion is associated with dysregulated gene expression in male offspring.

Transgenerational blunting of morphine-induced corticosterone secretion is associated with dysregulated gene expression in male offspring. Brain Res. 2017 Nov 09;: Authors: Vassoler FM, Toorie AM, Byrnes EM Abstract A number of parental experiences, even when occurring prior to conception, have been shown to induce transgenerational effects beyond the first generation. In the case of exposure to drugs of abuse, studies in rodents suggest that offspring demonstrate significant differences in how they respond to the drug to which their parent was exposed. We have previously observed significant alterations in morphine analgesia, conditioned place preference and self-administration in the offspring of females exposed to morphine during adolescent development. In addition to effects on pain perception and reward, morphine also modulates the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis. The purpose of the current study was to determine whether female adolescent morphine exposure results in transgenerational effects on regulation of the HPA axis by morphine in future generations. Adolescent morphine was administered to female Sprague Dawley rats using a 10 day, escalating dose regimen of morphine (5-25 mg/kg; from 30-39 days of age). Control animals received saline. Both saline and morphine exposed females (SAL-F0 and MOR-F0, respectively) were mated with drug naïve males beginning at least 3 weeks after the final injection. Plasma corticost...
Source: Brain Research - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: Brain Res Source Type: research