Oxycodone decreases anxiety-like behavior in the elevated plus-maze test in male and female rats
In conclusion, oxycodone decreases anxiety-like behavior in rats, and oxycodone has a greater anxiolytic-like effect in males than females. (Source: Behavioural Pharmacology)
Source: Behavioural Pharmacology - August 17, 2022 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: Research Reports Source Type: research
Preweaning environmental enrichment alters neonatal ultrasonic vocalisations in a rat model for prenatal infections
Conclusion
We showed that the effects of maternal poly I:C on the offspring’s USVs could be reduced by early EE. If replicated, it could open novel and safe avenues for treating children of mothers who were exposed to infections during pregnancy. (Source: Behavioural Pharmacology)
Source: Behavioural Pharmacology - August 17, 2022 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: Research Reports Source Type: research
Punishment of ethanol choice in rhesus monkeys
In this study, we extended this approach to a nonhuman primate model in which the ability of quinine to decrease the choice of a 4% ethanol solution vs. water was measured. Five adult female rhesus monkeys with 7.3 years of experience drinking ethanol were given access to a 4% ethanol solution and water for 3 h per day. When ethanol choice was stable, a single quinine concentration (0.03–5.6g/L) was added to the ethanol solution for 1 day until a quinine concentration-effect curve was generated. After determining the quinine concentration that reduced ethanol choice by half (the quinine EC50), the relative reinforc...
Source: Behavioural Pharmacology - August 17, 2022 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: Research Reports Source Type: research
OREX-1038: a potential new treatment for pain with low abuse liability and limited adverse effects
This study explored one of these ligands, OREX-1038 (BU10038), in several assays in rodents and nonhuman primates. Binding and functional studies confirmed OREX-1038 to be a low-efficacy agonist at mu opioid and nociceptin/orphanin FQ peptide receptors and an antagonist at delta and kappa opioid receptors with selectivity for opioid receptors over other proteins. OREX-1038 had long-acting antinociceptive effects in postsurgical and complete Freund’s adjuvant (CFA)-induced thermal hyperalgesia assays in rats and a warm water tail-withdrawal assay in monkeys. OREX-1038 was active for at least 24 h in each antinociception a...
Source: Behavioural Pharmacology - August 17, 2022 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: Research Reports Source Type: research
Acute glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist liraglutide prevents cue-, stress-, and drug-induced heroin-seeking in rats
Substance use disorder is challenging to treat due to its relapsing nature. In the last decade, opioid use disorder has been a threat to public health, being declared an epidemic by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This is a tragic situation, considering there currently are only three effective, yet not ideal, treatments to prevent relapse to opioids. Recent research has shown that hormones that modulate hunger and satiety also can modulate motivated behavior for drugs of abuse. For example, the short-acting analog of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), an incretin hormone that regulates homeostatic feeding, ha...
Source: Behavioural Pharmacology - July 23, 2022 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: Research Reports Source Type: research
D2 receptor antagonism enhances cocaine-induced behavioral sensitization in female, but not male Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica)
Sex differences in cocaine-induced behaviors are well established. In rodents, females show enhanced locomotion to cocaine over multiple trials compared with males, a behavioral response known as sensitization. Estradiol enhances cocaine-induced sensitization in female rats by agonizing dopaminergic activity within the brain. In female quail, cocaine does not increase locomotion regardless of increased estradiol. A higher D2:D1 dopamine receptor ratio in quail compared with rodents may explain this sex and species difference. The goal of the present work was to investigate the role of D2 receptors in cocaine-induced locomo...
Source: Behavioural Pharmacology - July 23, 2022 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: Research Reports Source Type: research
Multigenerational effects of paternal spatial training are lasting in the F1 and F2 male offspring
Recent studies on intergenerational transmission of learning and memory performances demonstrated that parental spatial training before fertilization could facilitate learning and memory in the offspring, but many questions remain unclarified. Essential issues regarding whether and how long the effects of parental training in a task can last in several generations, and whether learning a task repeated in the successive generations can enhance a load of multigenerational effects. In the present study, the spatial performances of F1 and F2 generations of male offspring of fathers or grandfathers spatially trained in the Morr...
Source: Behavioural Pharmacology - July 23, 2022 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: Research Reports Source Type: research
The selective 5-HT1A receptor agonist, NLX-112, overcomes tetrabenazine-induced catalepsy and depression-like behavior in the rat
Tetrabenazine, a preferential inhibitor of the vesicular monoamine transporter type 2, depletes the brain monoamines dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine. Tetrabenazine and deutetrabenazine (Austedo ®) are used to treat chorea associated with Huntington’s disease. However, both compounds are known to aggravate Parkinsonism and depression observed in Huntington’s disease patients. NLX-112 (a.k.a. befiradol/F13640) is a highly selective, potent and efficacious serotonin 5-HT1A agonist. In animal models, it has robust efficacy in combating other iatrogenic motor disorders such as L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia and has marke...
Source: Behavioural Pharmacology - July 23, 2022 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: Research Reports Source Type: research
Sex differences in the acute ethanol effects on object recognition memory: influence of estrous cycle
In conclusion, while male rats displayed ethanol-induced recognition memory deficit, female rats were unaffected by EtOH impairing effects. In addition, the performance of female rats was influenced by the estrous cycle phases. (Source: Behavioural Pharmacology)
Source: Behavioural Pharmacology - July 23, 2022 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: Research Reports Source Type: research
Buspirone, a 5-HT1A agonist attenuates social isolation-induced behavior deficits in rats: a comparative study with fluoxetine
Social isolation is a potent stressor in both humans and animals that results in increased anger-like emotion, (anger in humans), aggression and suicidal ideation in humans [suicidal trait-related behavior in rats (STRB)]. The study’s purpose was to compare the effects of buspirone (BUS) and fluoxetine (Flx) on social isolation-induced behavior deficits in rats. The male Wistar rats were randomized into six groups and caged individually for 14 days except for the non stress control (nSC) group. They were then divided into the following groups, stress control (SC), Flx (30), BUS (10), BUS (20) and BUS (40) and treated f...
Source: Behavioural Pharmacology - July 23, 2022 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: Research Reports Source Type: research
Pinocembrin ameliorates depressive-like behaviors by regulating P2X7/TRL4 receptors expression in mouse hippocampus
In conclusion, pinocembrin ameliorates CUMS-induced depressive-like behaviors possibly through downregulating P2X7/TLR4 pathway, providing the mechanism of antidepressant treatment. (Source: Behavioural Pharmacology)
Source: Behavioural Pharmacology - July 23, 2022 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: Research Reports Source Type: research
Male and female rats exhibit comparable gaping behavior but activate brain regions differently during expression of conditioned nausea
Twenty-five to fifty percent of patients undergoing chemotherapy will develop anticipatory nausea and vomiting (ANV), in which symptoms occur in anticipation of treatment. ANV is triggered by environmental cues and shows little response to traditional antiemetic therapy, suggesting that unique neural pathways mediate this response. Understanding the underlying neural mechanisms of this disorder is critical to the development of novel therapeutic interventions. The purpose of the present study was to identify brain areas activated during ANV and characterize sex differences in both the behavior and the brain areas activated...
Source: Behavioural Pharmacology - June 1, 2022 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: Research Reports Source Type: research
Spontaneous alternation and stereotypical behaviour in deer mice: response to escitalopram and levetiracetam
In conclusion, this work points to some degree of cognitive involvement in Comp-H expression, which should be explored to further our understanding of compulsive-like stereotypy. (Source: Behavioural Pharmacology)
Source: Behavioural Pharmacology - June 1, 2022 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: Research Reports Source Type: research
Pharmacological activation of kappa opioid receptors in the nucleus accumbens core and ventral tegmental area increases the aversive effects of nicotine
In this study, we assessed the effects of KOR activation in specific brain regions, namely, the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) core and ventral tegmental area (VTA) on the aversive effects of nicotine using the conditioned taste aversion model. Separate groups of Wistar rats were implanted with cannulae above either the NAcc core or the VTA. KOR agonist (±U50488) was bilaterally infused in the NAcc core (0, 0.3, and 3 ug/0.5 ul/side) or VTA (0, 0.3, 1.5, and 3 ug/0.5 ul/side) prior to receiving nicotine (0.4 mg/kg, base; s.c.) during conditioning. Bilateral infusion of the KOR agonist (3 ug/0.5 ul/side) in the NAcc core or the ...
Source: Behavioural Pharmacology - June 1, 2022 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: Research Reports Source Type: research
The effects of acute oral naltrexone pretreatment on the abuse potential of intranasal methamphetamine, and the relationship between reward/punishment sensitivity and methamphetamine’s effects
One potential medication for treating methamphetamine use disorder is the opioid antagonist naltrexone (NLTX). Despite encouraging preclinical findings, the results of clinical studies have been mixed. The primary aim of the current trial was to examine the effects of acute NLTX pretreatment on the subjective and reinforcing effects of intranasal methamphetamine. Nonmedical psychostimulant users completed outpatient testing sessions in which they received oral placebo (0 mg) or NLTX (50 mg) before intranasal methamphetamine (30 mg/70 kg). Primary outcome measures were peak positive subjective effects (e.g. drug ‘...
Source: Behavioural Pharmacology - June 1, 2022 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: Research Reports Source Type: research
