Inhibitory transmission in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis in male and female mice following morphine withdrawal

There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

Abstract

The United States is experiencing an opioid crisis imposing enormous fiscal and societal costs, and driving the staggering overdose death rate. While prescription opioid analgesics are essential for treating acute pain, cessation of use in individuals with a physical dependence induces an aversive withdrawal syndrome which promotes continued drug use to alleviate/avoid these symptoms. Additionally, repeated bouts of withdrawal often lead to an increased propensity for relapse. Understanding the neurobiology underlying withdrawal is essential for providing novel treatment options to alleviate physiological and affective components accompanying the cessation of opiate use. Here, we administered morphine, and precipitated withdrawal with naloxone to investigate behavioral and cellular responses in C57BL/6J male and female mice. Following 3 days of administration, both male and female mice demonstrated sensitized withdrawal symptoms. Since the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) plays a role in mediating withdrawal-associated behaviors, we examined plastic changes in inhibitory synaptic transmission within this structure 24 hours following the final precipitated withdrawal. In male mice, morphine withdrawal increased spontaneous GABAergic signaling compared to controls. In contrast, morphine withdrawal decreased spontaneous GABAergic signaling in female mice. Intriguingly, these opposing GABAergic effects were contingent upon activity-dependent dynamics within the ex vivo slice. Our findings suggest that male and female mice exhibit some divergent cellular responses in the BNST following morphine withdrawal, and alterations in BNST inhibitory signaling may contribute to the expression of behaviors following opioid withdrawal.

Related collections

Most cited references 51

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Studying sex and gender differences in pain and analgesia: a consensus report.

Joel D Greenspan, Rebecca Craft, Linda LeResche … (2007)

In September 2006, members of the Sex, Gender and Pain Special Interest Group of the International Association for the Study of Pain met to discuss the following: (1) what is known about sex and gender differences in pain and analgesia; (2) what are the "best practice" guidelines for pain research with respect to sex and gender; and (3) what are the crucial questions to address in the near future? The resulting consensus presented herein includes input from basic science, clinical and psychosocial pain researchers, as well as from recognized experts in sexual differentiation and reproductive endocrinology. We intend this document to serve as a utilitarian and thought-provoking guide for future research on sex and gender differences in pain and analgesia, both for those currently working in this field as well as those still wondering, "Do I really need to study females?"

0 comments Cited 254 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: found

Is Open Access

Overshadowed by the amygdala: the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis emerges as key to psychiatric disorders

M A Lebow, Zhuo A. Chen (2016)

The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) is a center of integration for limbic information and valence monitoring. The BNST, sometimes referred to as the extended amygdala, is located in the basal forebrain and is a sexually dimorphic structure made up of between 12 and 18 sub-nuclei. These sub-nuclei are rich with distinct neuronal subpopulations of receptors, neurotransmitters, transporters and proteins. The BNST is important in a range of behaviors such as: the stress response, extended duration fear states and social behavior, all crucial determinants of dysfunction in human psychiatric diseases. Most research on stress and psychiatric diseases has focused on the amygdala, which regulates immediate responses to fear. However, the BNST, and not the amygdala, is the center of the psychogenic circuit from the hippocampus to the paraventricular nucleus. This circuit is important in the stimulation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis. Thus, the BNST has been largely overlooked with respect to its possible dysregulation in mood and anxiety disorders, social dysfunction and psychological trauma, all of which have clear gender disparities. In this review, we will look in-depth at the anatomy and projections of the BNST, and provide an overview of the current literature on the relevance of BNST dysregulation in psychiatric diseases.

0 comments Cited 200 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

The inhibitory circuit architecture of the lateral hypothalamus orchestrates feeding.

Katherine Stamatakis, Garret Stuber, Randall Ung … (2013)

The growing prevalence of overeating disorders is a key contributor to the worldwide obesity epidemic. Dysfunction of particular neural circuits may trigger deviations from adaptive feeding behaviors. The lateral hypothalamus (LH) is a crucial neural substrate for motivated behavior, including feeding, but the precise functional neurocircuitry that controls LH neuronal activity to engage feeding has not been defined. We observed that inhibitory synaptic inputs from the extended amygdala preferentially innervate and suppress the activity of LH glutamatergic neurons to control food intake. These findings help explain how dysregulated activity at a number of unique nodes can result in a cascading failure within a defined brain network to produce maladaptive feeding.