Determining the Physiological Effects of Opioid Addiction through the Application of Spared Nerve Injury Model of Neuropathic Pain on the Morphine Self-Administration Rodent Model
Advisor(s)
Dr. Maria Virginia Centeno; Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine
Dr. A. Vania Apkarian; Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine
Discipline
Medical and Health Sciences
Start Date
21-4-2021 9:30 AM
End Date
21-4-2021 9:45 AM
Abstract
The aim of this project is to determine whether morphine reinforcement and seeking behavior in enhanced in SNI mice trained to self-administer morphine. Testing was completed by examining behavioral approaches of both SNI and sham lesioned mice, with a focus in MSA. Mice were tested 2 months after catheter implantation, with active doses of 0.1/mg/kg/infusion. An FR1, 13 days training procedure was used, with each level press triggering illumination of the cue light for 6 seconds and the in-house light for 20 seconds to indicate a timeout period. To determine the reinforcing capacity of the morphine, a progressive ratio schedule was used to quantify seeking behavior extinction and reinstatement through drug-primed and pain-induced reinstatement, which showed a clear distinction between SNI and Sham addiction patterns. These results can be used to guide chemogenetic manipulation of key nodes in the VTA-NAc circuitry in an attempt to reverse SNI-induced changes in drug seeking behavior; particularly regarding the VTA DA neurons that intersection the shell and core as well as investigating if the MSA alters the SNI induced adaptations.
Determining the Physiological Effects of Opioid Addiction through the Application of Spared Nerve Injury Model of Neuropathic Pain on the Morphine Self-Administration Rodent Model
The aim of this project is to determine whether morphine reinforcement and seeking behavior in enhanced in SNI mice trained to self-administer morphine. Testing was completed by examining behavioral approaches of both SNI and sham lesioned mice, with a focus in MSA. Mice were tested 2 months after catheter implantation, with active doses of 0.1/mg/kg/infusion. An FR1, 13 days training procedure was used, with each level press triggering illumination of the cue light for 6 seconds and the in-house light for 20 seconds to indicate a timeout period. To determine the reinforcing capacity of the morphine, a progressive ratio schedule was used to quantify seeking behavior extinction and reinstatement through drug-primed and pain-induced reinstatement, which showed a clear distinction between SNI and Sham addiction patterns. These results can be used to guide chemogenetic manipulation of key nodes in the VTA-NAc circuitry in an attempt to reverse SNI-induced changes in drug seeking behavior; particularly regarding the VTA DA neurons that intersection the shell and core as well as investigating if the MSA alters the SNI induced adaptations.