Opioid receptor modulation of neural circuits in depression: What can be learned from preclinical data?

This article highlights how the opioid system potently modulates mesolimbic circuitry underlying motivation and reward processing, limbic circuitry underlying fear and anxiety responses, cortical and hippocampal circuitry underlying a variety of cognitive functions, as well as broad functional and structural plasticity mechanisms. Ultimately, a more thorough understanding of how the opioid system modulates these core functional domains may lead to novel treatment strategies and molecular targets in the treatment of MDD.
Source: Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews - Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research