Browsing by Subject "addiction"

The nucleus accumbens (NAc) is located in the ventral striatum and plays a critical role in drug addiction. NAc receives dopaminergic projections from ventral tegmental area (VTA) which is activated after administration of various abused drugs. Activation of VTA increases the release of dopamine in NAc. Increased dopamine levels induce the release of acetylcholine from striatal cholinergic interneurons. These cholinergic interneurons have been related to the development of addiction and other emotion-related disorders such as depression. Previous studies have shown that a lesion of cholinergic interneurons led to an increase in morphine-induced conditioned place preference in mice. Moreover, an activation of cholinergic interneurons by designer receptors (DREADD) has reduced food consumption motivated by food restriction. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether accumbal cholinergic interneurons mediate alcohol- and morphine-induced conditioned place preference and locomotor activity. The activation of cholinergic interneurons was controlled using DREADD (Designer Receptors Exclusively Activated by Designer Drugs) technology. DREADDs are G protein-coupled receptors. Cellular function and activation can be modulated by these receptors. DREADDs are activated by an otherwise inert synthetic ligand, clozapine-N-oxide (CNO). Fluorescent protein, mCherry, is attached to DREADDs so that the expression of receptors in brain tissue can be observed. Cre-spesific adeno-associated viruses (AAV) with DREADD gene were injected bilaterally to the nucleus accumbens of ChATcre mice in stereotactic surgery. The effects of alcohol and morphine were tested with conditioned place preference procedure. Mice were divided to three groups after DREADDs: activating receptor Gq (n = 10), inhibiting receptor Gi (n = 9) and control mC (n = 9). There were both male and female mice in every group. Alcohol did not induce conditioned place preference in any group. The locomotor activity of mice significantly increased after alcohol injection compared to saline injection. However, cholinergic interneurons had no effect on the increased locomotor activity. Morphine-induced conditioned place preference was expressed in every group but there were no significant differences between DREADDs and control group when the first 15 minutes and the whole 30 minutes of the place preference test was analysed. Though, Gq-receptor seemed to decrease the place preference compared to control group when the place preference test was observed in five minute intervals. Morphine also significantly increased the locomotor activity of mice, but there were no differences between the groups. Sex had no influence on the place preference, but female mice were more active than male mice during the alcohol conditioning and the alcohol place preference test. The locomotor activity of female mice also increased more than the activity of male mice after morphine injection. The effect of accumbal cholinergic interneurons on alcohol-induced conditioned place preference remained unclear. Activation of cholinergic interneurons suppressed morphine-induced conditioned place preference compared to control group but not enough so that the effect could be seen during the whole place preference test. The mice were same in the morphine test as in the alcohol test so the mice were conditioned to alcohol before morphine and therefore the results of morphine-induced conditioned place preference are not reliable.

Goals. Previous studies have demonstrated, that social networking site addiction shares similarities with other addictions in terms of symptoms, but not a lot of research exists on the neurobiology of social networking site addiction. The aim of this thesis is to find out, whether social networking site addiction should be thought of as a similar kind of addiction to other, more well-established addictions. This question is a part of a more general discussion on whether behavioral addictions are comparable disorders to substance-related addictions. Methods. For this critical review a search using Google Scholar and PubMed was conducted. The search terms used were social networking site addiction, SNS addiction, neuroimaging, neural correlates and neural mechanisms. The search yielded only two articles focusing on the exact subject, although more research on closely related topics, such as internet addiction and Facebook addiction was found. Results and conclusions. Based on the evidence presented in this thesis it is not possible to conclude, whether social networking site addiction should be considered an addiction or not. There seem to be some similarities but also some dissimilarities in the neural correlates of social networking site addiction compared to other addictions. It should also be noted that the neurobiological perspective might be necessary but not sufficient for determining if a behavior should be classified as a disorder or not.

4-Methylmethcathinone (Mephedrone) is one of the the most prevalent synthetic cathinones that bears close structural similarity to amphetamines. Like other stimulants, mephedrone is often used with alcohol (ethanol). In animal studies ethanol has been observed to potentiate the neurotoxicity of amphetamine-type stimulants, and same has been observed when mephedrone and alcohol is combined. The long-term effects of mephedrone have still remained largely elusive. The aim of this thesis is to study the effects of mephedrone, methamphetamine, and ethanol on dendritic spine density and morphology in the hippocampus, nucleus accumbens and caudate putamen, and compare the spine densities with changes in brain activation observed in manganese-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MEMRI). Dendritic spines are small membranous protrusions on dendrites that act as the post-synaptic sites for most of the excitatory synapses. Amphetamine and methamphetamine have been shown to affect the density and morphology of the spines. The goal of this thesis was to investigate the long-term effect of binge-like (two times a day, four consecutive days) stimulant treatment on dendritic spines using Golgi-stained rat brain sections. The brains of 48 male Wistar rats were imaged using AxioImager Z2 microscope and the number and the size of the spines was analyzed using Reconstruct software. In this thesis no effect on dendritic spines was observed in the hippocampus and nucleus accumbens in animals treated with mephedrone, methamphetamine, ethanol or combination of them. In the caudate putamen significant increase in the total density of dendritic spines and in the density of filopodia-like spines was observed in mephedrone-treated animals. Other treatments showed no observable effect. These results were conflicting with previous studies where amphetamine-type stimulants have been shown to increase the spine density in the nucleus accumbens and the hippocampus and increase the density of branched spines. In the caudate putamen methamphetamine has been observed to decrease the spine density. There was no correlation between spine densities and brain activation observed in MEMRI. To my best knowledge this is the first time when the effect of mephedrone on dendritic spines has been studied. It is possible that the treatment regimen used here was not strong enough to produce marked long-term changes on dendritic spines. It is also possible, that mephedrone is not as neurotoxic as other amphetamine-type stimulants, which may explain why the effects remained limited and conflicting. More research is still required to establish the long-term structural effects of mephedrone.

The insular cortex has been implicated in the neurocircuitry underlying alcohol addiction. The role of the insular cortex and its projections in regulating ethanol intake in AA (Alko-Alcohol) rats has been studied using chemogenetic tools. Chemogenetic activation of the anterior agranular insula (aAI) in AA rats through excitatory DREADDs expressed in the aAI has been found to decrease ethanol consumption. The aAI projects to the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA), another brain region involved in the development of addiction, particularly in the withdrawal/negative affect stage. In the current study, we sought to further investigate the role of the aAI and the CeA in regulating voluntary ethanol consumption in AA rats. First, we characterized the efferent projections of the aAI in AA rats by chemogenetically activating the aAI with DREADDs and then measuring c-Fos expression in various regions of interest throughout the brain. Next, we investigated the role of the aAI --> CeA projection in ethanol intake by chemogenetically activating or inhibiting the aAI --> CeA projection using the dual viral Cre-dependent DREADD approach. We examined the effects of this manipulation on voluntary ethanol consumption in AA rats in a two-bottle choice paradigm. Finally, we examined the roles of CeA D1Rs (dopamine receptors) and 5-HT2ARs (serotonin receptors) in regulating ethanol intake by examining the effects of pharmacological agonism or antagonism of these receptors on voluntary ethanol consumption in AA rats. Our results from the first experiment reveal significant activation of brain regions including the posterior agranular insula, the mediodorsal nucleus of the thalamus, and the posterior piriform cortex following chemogenetic activation of the aAI. The projections from the aAI to these regions are potentially important in the aAI circuitry in AA rats and are therefore of interest in future studies on the role of aAI circuitry in ethanol intake. In the second experiment, we found no significant effects of aAI --> CeA projection activation or inhibition on ethanol consumption in AA rats, indicating that this projection may not be a key component in regulating ethanol intake in these rats. Finally, we found no significant effects of pharmacological D1R antagonism, 5-HT2AR antagonism, or 5-HT2AR agonism in the CeA on ethanol intake in AA rats, although there was a non-significant trend towards a dose-dependent decrease in ethanol consumption with increasing dose of the D1R antagonist. Our results reveal new neural projections that should be investigated in future research on the role of the aAI in regulating ethanol intake. Studies on the neurobiology underlying alcoholism may reveal new pharmacological or anatomical targets for treatments of alcoholism in humans.

Histamine is a monoamine structured signal molecule, which takes part in many functions of living organisms. It was first found in brain approximately 70 years ago. Neuronal histamine regulates for example biological rhythms, energy metabolism and thermoregulation. In the 1980's, H3-receptor was recognized in the brain. Neuronal histamine regulates functions of other transmitters for example gamma-aminobutyric acid, glutamate, acetylcholine, noradrenaline and dopamine. Currently, the interactions of histamine and dopamine are not well characterized. Though, it is known that histaminergic fibers innerviate almost every dopaminergic area of the brain. There are also several H3-receptors in the striatum and in the limbic system. These brain areas are important for the rewarding effect of dopamine. The aim of the experimental part of this Master's thesis was to examine the location of histaminergic and dopaminergic nervous systems in mouse brain by using immunohistochemistry. Primary antibodies that were produced in rabbit (anti-histamine (HA)) and in mouse (anti-tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)), and secondary anti-rabbit and anti-mouse anti-bodies, that were produced in goat and conjugated with fluorophores, were used in the study. The samples were imaged with a confocal microscope. The primary aim was to find out, in which addiction related brain areas, histamine and dopamine cells and fibers are located and how they are situated in relation to each other. H3-receptor antagonists have been shown to decrease the consumption and rewarding effect of alcohol in animal models. Therefore, it was examined if non-imidazole structured H3-receptor antagonist also inhibits the rewarding effect of amphetamine, and if it decreases the locomotor activity induced by amphetamine. JNJ-39220675, a neutral antagonist of H3-receptor, and behavioral paradigm of conditioned place preference (CPP) were used in the experiment. CPP was also used to find out if D2-receptor agonist quinpirole cause reward or aversion. The effect of JNJ-39220675 on quinpirole's place preference and change in locomotor activity was also investigated. The interactions of these two pharmacological ligands were also examined in a separate locomotor activity experiment. C57BL/6J mice were used in all experiments. The results show that there are possible synaptic connections of histaminergic and dopaminergic system in substantia nigra, supramammillary nucleus, dorsomedial hypothalamic area and ventral periaqueductal grey area. Also, histaminergic nerve fibers innerviate to the dorsal striatum, which regulates motor functions, and to the ventral striatum, which is a part of the rewarding system of the brain. Hence, it is possible that histamine regulates the actions of dopa-mine in these brain areas. The behavioral experiments showed that JNJ-39220675 inhibits acutely increased locomotor activity caused by amphetamine, and decreases desensitation of decreased locomotor action caused by repeated dose of quinpirole. However, JNJ-39220675 did not have any effect on the rewarding effect of amphetamine, which causes strong sensitization. Also, JNJ-39220675 did not have an effect on quinpirole's aversive action. It remains to be seen, if H3-receptor is a potential target for new medicines in the treatment of different brain diseases and addiction in the future.

Glutamate is the principal excitatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system. Glutamatergic neurotransmission plays a central role in the development and maintenance of drug addiction. Glutamate interacts with other neurotransmitters such as dopamine in the actions concerning addiction. During the development of drug addiction, plastic changes in the neuronal connections related to memory and learning occur for example in the amount of synapses and in the efficacy of their action. Glutamatergic AMPA receptor and especially its GluA1 subunit are thought to be included in the neurobiological mechanisms related to drug addiction. Compulsive drug craving and relapses to drug use after a period of abstinence are central problems among people suffering drug addiction. Conditioned place preference is a technique that is used to study motivational properties of drugs in experimental animals. The aim of this master's thesis was to examine the importance of glutamatergic AMPA receptor GluA1 subunit in the morphine-induced place preference and in its extinction and reinstatement behaviour. Locomotor activity of mice was studied during all the phases of experiment. Glutamatergic AMPA receptor GluA1 subunit-deficient (GluA1-/-) and their control (wildtype) mice, based on C57BL/6J mouse strain, were used in the experiments. During the conditioning phase, the mice were trained to associate the effects of morphine (20 mg/kg) with a specific environment. After conditioning, the extinction with morphine paired conditioning environment was assessed by giving saline (0,9 % NaCl solution) to mice. The extinction phase was followed by reinstatement test, in which mice were given morphine (20 mg/kg). The seeking of animals with morphine paired conditioning environment described drug-seeking during different phases of experiment. GluA1-/- mice were more hyperactive when placed in the testing environment compared to the wildtype mice. However, the morphine-induced locomotor activity did not differ between genotypes. Locomotor activity of both genotypes was sensitized equally in consequence of repeated morphine exposures. Morphine induced place preference in both genotypes. Furthermore, the extinction of morphine place preference happened in both genotypes. However, the results of reinstatement test differed partly between genotypes. The place preference was reinstated by morphine in wildtype mice, but not in GluA1-/- mice, when using repeated testing extinction method. Instead of place preference, wildtype mice exhibited place aversion, when extinction method was saline conditioning. As a result of these experiments, extinction method can have an impact on the results of reinstatement test and conclusions cannot be done on the importance of GluA1 subunit in morphine reinstatement. In conclusion, the results of place preference experiments support the conception that GluA1 subunit is not significant in morphine conditioning. However, based on these experiments, GluA1 subunit is not important in morphine extinction, as one might assume on the basis of literature. GluA1 subunit may have an importance in morphine reinstatement, although the results of reinstatement test were partly contradictory.

The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) is currently widely studied due to its impact in the anxiety-, stress-, and fearrelated behaviours, as well as in addiction. The BNST is highly heterogeneous brain area constituting of set of subnuclei and a variety of neuron populations, properties of which have only partially been revealed by the earlier research. One of the neuron populations, on which only a very little research has been conducted, is the somatostatin (Sst) expressing neurons, highly abundant in the anterodorsal part of the BNST (adBNST), especially in oval and juxtacapsular nuclei of the BNST. This work aims to elucidate the connectivity of this Sst-neuron population, and their role in the behaviours related to BNST activation, particularly the anxiety-, reward-, and drug withdrawal-related behaviours. To specifically study the somatostatin neuron population in the adBNST, I targeted the neurons using stereotaxic delivery of AAV-vectors encoding a myristylated green fluorescent protein (GFP) for neuronal tracing to Sst-Cre-tdTomato reporter line mice (n=2), and Cre-inducible hM3Dq-DREADDs to Sst-IRES-Cre mice (n=21), with Cre-inducible mCherry fluorescent protein as a control (n=20). The mice were treated with activation-inducing 1.0 mg/kg i.p. clozapine-N-oxide (CNO) 30 min prior to the behavioural tests. To assess acute anxiety-like behaviour, I used the elevated-plus maze paradigm and a modified open field test, in which a novel object is introduced to the arena in the middle of the trial. To study the potential effect on reward-associated behaviours, I used the biased conditioned place preference (CPP) test, and for the withdrawal-linked behaviours, we used a method to precipitate the withdrawal symptoms with naltrexone in subchronically morphine-treated mice (n=9 hM3Dq, n=8 control). The neuronal tracing revealed that the adBNST Sst-neurons project to areas known to partake in stress and fear reactions as well as in autonomic and homeostatic control. Namely, projections were seen in medial and central amygdaloidal nuclei, lateral hypothalamus, periaqueductal grey, ventral pallidum, and parabrachial nucleus. In the elevated-plus maze, the CNO-induced activation of the Sst-neurons did not have any effect on the locomotor activity of the mice between the groups. At the same time, Sst activation did not seem to have any significant effect on the time the mice spent in the open arms, nor in the exploratory activities, like the frequency of the head dips or the stretch-attend postures. In line with these results, no effect on the movement between the groups was observed in the open field test. Similarly, no differences in anxiety-related behaviours, like in the time spent in the centre of the arena or in the number of contacts with the novel object during the last phase of the test, were observed. The CPP test failed to show any meaningful rewarding or aversive properties of CNO-induced activation of the Sst-neurons, while the movement rates of the groups during the conditioning trials were not different in statistically significant way. As for the withdrawal symptoms, all the mice showed the predetermined symptoms, but the test failed to show any differences between the study groups. The neuronal tracing revealed connectivity for the adBNST Sst-neurons with brain regions involved in fear- and anxiety behaviour, social encounters, and autonomic control. In spite of this, the CNO-induced chemogenetic activation of the adBNST Sst-neurons failed to show any significant behavioural effects in the chosen paradigms for anxiety-, and reward-related behaviours, and for withdrawal symptoms. Further research is needed to dissect the Sst-subcircuitry of adBNST, both in order to verify the observed output regions, and to elucidate the role these neurons play in modification of behavioural phenotypes.

Background: Alcohol dependence is a chronic severe substance use disorder that has devastating personal and public health consequences. The efficacy of the current pharmacotherapy options for the treatment of alcohol dependence are modest at best, therefore better alternatives are greatly needed. Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) has shown promise in treatment of alcohol dependence in several clinical trials. A sigle high dose of LSD has been suggested to have a treatment effect that last for at least six months, indicating a remarkably better efficacy than the currently available methods. LSD itself has been reported to have a low addiction potential. In mouse models, acute LSD has been demonstrated to reduce ethanol consumption. Yet, the mechanism of action behind these effects has remained largely unknown. LSD is an agonist of serotonin’s 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C receptors which have been shown to modulate the dopaminergic activity of the reward circuitry, a crucial brain area in the initiation of addiction. Intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS) is a procedure for a quantitative assessment of reward behavior in animal models. In ICSS, laboratory rodents self-administer electric stimulation to the dopaminergic pathways of the reward circuitry inducing a reinforcing effect similar to drug reward. Aim: The aim of the current body of work was to use ICSS to assess the acute effects of LSD on reward behavior in C57BL/6JRj mice. This was done to improve the understanding of the mechanism of action of LSD and to evaluate whether the ethanol-consumption-reducing effect of LSD in mice is mediated through the reward mechanism. Methods: Bipolar electrodes targeting the medial forebrain bundle were implanted in the brains of C57BL/6JRj mice in a stereotaxic surgery. The animals were trained to acquire the self-stimulation in the discrete-trial current-intensity procedure. First, the possible dose-dependent acute effects were tested with three different doses of LSD. Next, the acute effect of LSD on amphetamine-induced changes in ISCC were tested. Lastly, a small preliminary test on the effects of LSD on lipopolysaccharide (LPS) -induced changes on ICSS were conducted. Results and conclusions: Acute LSD did not affect reward behavior in ICSS on any of the tested doses. Accordingly, LSD did not affect the facilitation of ICSS induced by acute amphetamine. The results of the LPS experiment were likely to be skewed by the development of tolerance to LPS, therefore the evaluation of the possible effect of LSD was not possible. These findings suggest that the previously reported LSD-induced reduction in ethanol consumption in mice, is not mediated through alteration of the reward mechanism. At the same time, these findings provide further evidence supporting the suggestion that LSD itself does not induce facilitation of the reward circuitry needed for the development of addiction.