Neuropharmacology
-
Exposure to drug-associated cues evokes drug-seeking behavior and is regarded as a major cause of relapse. Cues evoke burst firing of ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine (DA) neurons and phasic DA release in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). Cholinergic and glutamatergic input to the VTA is suggested to gate phasic DA activity. ⋯ In cocaine naïve subjects, VTA infusion of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (AChR) antagonist mecamylamine, the muscarinic AChR antagonist scopolamine, or the NMDAR antagonist AP-5, led to robust attenuation of phasic DA release in the NAc core. During early cocaine withdrawal, VTA infusion of AP-5 had limited effects on NAc phasic DA release and cue-induced cocaine-seeking while VTA infusion of mecamylamine or scopolamine robustly inhibited both phasic DA release and cocaine-seeking. The results demonstrate that VTA AChRs, but not NMDARs, strongly regulate cue-induced cocaine-seeking and phasic DA release during early cocaine withdrawal.
-
Although muscarinic acetylcholine (mACh) receptors are expressed in trigeminal ganglia, it is still unknown whether mACh receptors modulate glutamatergic transmission from primary afferents onto medullary dorsal horn neurons. In this study, we have addressed the cholinergic modulation of primary afferent glutamatergic transmission using a conventional whole cell patch clamp technique. Glutamatergic excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) were evoked from primary afferents by electrical stimulation of trigeminal tract and monosynaptic EPSCs were recorded from medullary dorsal horn neurons of rat horizontal brain stem slices. ⋯ The muscarine-induced decrease of glutamatergic EPSCs was highly dependent on the extracellular Ca2+ concentration. Physostigmine and clinically available acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, such as rivastigmine and donepezil, significantly shifted the concentration-inhibition relationship of ACh for glutamatergic EPSCs. These results suggest that muscarine acts on presynaptic M2 receptors to inhibit glutamatergic transmission by reducing the Ca2+ influx into primary afferent terminals, and that M2 receptor agonists and acetylcholinesterase inhibitors could be, at least, potential targets to reduce nociceptive transmission from orofacial tissues.
-
After neonatal ventral hippocampal lesions (NVHLs), adult rats exhibit evidence of neural processing deficits relevant to schizophrenia, including reduced prepulse inhibition (PPI) of acoustic startle and impaired sensory processing. In intact rats, the regulation of PPI by the ventral hippocampus (VH) is mediated via interactions with medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and nucleus accumbens (NAC). We assessed PPI, auditory-evoked responses and expression of 7 schizophrenia-related genes in mPFC and NAC, in adult rats after sham- or real NVHLs. ⋯ After NVHLs that disrupt PPI and auditory processing, specific gene expression levels suggest an abnormal functional coupling of the mPFC and NAC. This model of VH-mPFC-NAC network dysfunction after NVHLs may have implications for understanding the neural basis for PPI- and related sensory processing deficits in schizophrenia patients.
-
Coordinated interaction among cells is critical to develop the extremely complex and dynamic tasks performed by the central nervous system (CNS). Cell synchronization is in part mediated by connexins and pannexins; two different protein families that form gap junction channels and hemichannels. Whereas gap junction channels connect the cytoplasm of contacting cells and coordinate electric and metabolic activities, hemichannels communicate intra- and extra-cellular compartments and serve as diffusional pathways for ions and small molecules. ⋯ Most of the modulatory effects induced by these signaling molecules are specific to the cell type and the connexin and pannexin subtype expressed in different brain areas. In this review, we summarized and discussed most of the relevant and recently published information on the effects of signaling molecules on connexin or pannexin based channels and their possible relevance in CNS physiology and pathology. This article is part of the Special Issue Section entitled 'Current Pharmacology of Gap Junction Channels and Hemichannels'.
-
Nitric oxide (NO) has been reported to be involved in the mechanisms of pain generation throughout the nervous system. We examined the effects of intrathecally (i.t.) administered nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitors on the antinociceptive effects of morphine and endomorphin-1 during acute pain and in chronic constriction injury (CCI)-exposed rats. We used N(G)-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME), a non-selective NOS inhibitor; 7-nitroindazole (7-NI) or 1-(2-trifluoromethyl-phenyl)-imidazole (TRIM), selective inhibitors of neuronal NOS (NOS1); and 1400W dihydrochloride, a selective inhibitor of inducible NOS (NOS2). ⋯ Both NOS2 and IBA-1 protein levels in the spinal cord and NOS1, NOS2 and IBA1 protein levels in DRG decreased after minocycline administration. In conclusion, our results provide evidence that both neuronal and non-neuronal NOS/NO pathways contribute to the behavioural pain responses evoked by nerve injury. The NOS inhibitors regardless of the type of pain enhanced morphine antinociception and, to a lesser extent, altered the effects of endomorphin-1, an opioid ligand with a peptidergic structure.