0000000001331313
AUTHOR
Adriana Castro-zavala
Prepulse inhibition can predict the motivational effects of cocaine in female mice exposed to maternal separation
The prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the startle response can identify the rodents that are more sensitive to the effects of cocaine. Mice with a lower PPI presented a higher vulnerability to the effects of cocaine and a higher susceptibility to developing a substance use disorder (SUD). Maternal separation with early weaning (MSEW) is a relevant animal model to induce motivational alterations throughout life. Nevertheless, only a few studies on females exist, even though they are more vulnerable to stress- and cocaine-related problems. Hence, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the ability of PPI to identify females with a greater vulnerability to the long-term consequences of early s…
Oxytocin prevents the increase of cocaine-related responses produced by social defeat
The neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT) plays a critical role in the regulation of social and emotional behaviors. OXT plays a role in stress response and in drug reward, but to date no studies have evaluated its implication in the long-lasting increase of the motivational effects of cocaine induced by repeated social defeat (RSD). During the social defeat procedure, 1 mg/kg of OXT was administered 30 min before each episode of RSD. Three weeks after the last defeat, the effects of cocaine on the conditioned place preference (CPP), locomotor sensitization and the self-administration (SA) paradigms were evaluated. The influence of OXT on the levels of BDNF in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), striatum an…
Oxytocin prevents the increase of cocaine-related responses produced by social defeat
The neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT) plays a critical role in the regulation of social and emotional behaviors. OXT plays a role in the stress response and in drug reward, but to date no studies have evaluated its implication in the long-lasting increase of the motivational effects of cocaine induced by repeated social defeat (SD). During the social defeat procedure, 1 mg/kg of OXT was administered 30 minutes before each episode of SD. Three weeks after the last defeat, the effects of cocaine on conditioned place preference (CPP), locomotor sensitization and the self-administration (SA) paradigm were evaluated. Our results confirm that raising the levels of OXT during social defeat stress can bl…