Hot Off the Press – March 16, 2023 Summary The brain µ-opioid receptor (MOR) is critical for the analgesic, rewarding, and addictive effects of opioid drugs. However, in rat models of opioid-related behaviors, the circuit mechanisms of MOR-expressing cells are less known because of a lack of genetic tools to selectively manipulate them. We introduce… [Read More]
News Main
Technology Development Initiative – Paper of the Month – March 2023
Single-Cell Chromatin Modification Profiling Reveals Increased Epigenetic Variations with Aging. Cell.
A group of researchers from Stanford University employed a multiplexed mass cytometry to profile the epigenetic landscape and measure a broad array of global chromatin modifications in human cells at the single-cell level. The EpiTOF technology provides new opportunities for identifying cell-specific epigenetic changes associated with altered physiological and pathological states. [Read More]
Compulsive drug-taking is associated with habenula-frontal cortex connectivity
Featured Paper of the Month – March 2023
Published in PNAS by Ying Duan, Pei-Jung Tsai and Yihong Yang, et al. from the NIDA IRP Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Spectroscopy Section.
Compulsive drug use, as the defining feature of substance use disorder, is attributed to disadvantageous decision-making and has been associated with dysfunction of frontal-midbrain systems. The habenula is a relay node between forebrain and midbrain regions and processes negative feedback in response to aversive events. To understand the contributions of frontal-habenula-midbrain circuits in the development of drug dependence, we employed a rat model of methamphetamine self-administration in the presence of concomitant footshock, which has been proposed to model compulsive drug-taking in humans…
Marisela Morales wins 2023 Winter Conference on Brain Research Pioneer Award
Dr. Morales was chosen to receive a 2023 Winter Conference on Brain Research (WCBR) Pioneer Award for her distinguished career as chief of the Integrative Neuroscience Research Branch and Neuronal Networks Section at the NIDA IRP. Congratulations Dr. Morales, from all of us at the NIDA IRP! From the WCBR Website: “Pioneer Awards were introduced… [Read More]
Technology Development Initiative – Paper of the Month – February 2023
Polony gels enable amplifiable DNA stamping and spatial transcriptomics of chronic pain. Cell.
Fu*, Sun*, Dong* et. al. generated and validated a novel polony-based ‘stamp gel’ that uses common lab equipment and enzymatic replication to produce copies of the 1 µm resolution barcoded array slide that is used for spatial transcriptomic capture. Taken together, polony gel stamping is poised to increase accessibility of high-resolution spatial transcriptomics. [Read More]
Spironolactone as a potential new pharmacotherapy for alcohol use disorder: convergent evidence from rodent and human studies
Featured Paper of the Month – February 2023
Published in Molecular Psychiatry with authors from the NIDA IRP Clinical Psychoneuroendocrinology and Neuropsychopharmacology Section and Neurobiology of Addiction Section.
The steroid hormone aldosterone regulates fluid and electrolyte homeostasis mainly via its mineralocorticoid receptor. Previous studies suggest that this pathway may also modulate alcohol seeking and consumption. Spironolactone is a nonselective mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist primarily used in clinical practice to treat cardiovascular conditions. Preliminary evidence indicates that spironolactone may also reduce alcohol use…
Role of ventral subiculum neuronal ensembles in incubation of oxycodone craving after electric barrier-induced voluntary abstinence
Hot Off the Press – January 26, 2023 Summary We recently introduced a rat model of incubation (time-dependent increase) of oxycodone craving after voluntary abstinence induced by negative consequences of drug seeking. Here, we used the activity marker Fos, muscimol-baclofen (GABAa+GABAb receptor agonists) global inactivation, and Daun02 selective inactivation of putative relapse-associated neuronal ensembles, to… [Read More]
Illuminating the monoamine transporters: Fluorescently labelled ligands to study dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine transporters
Reviews To Read – January 2023. Published in Basic & Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology by Gisela Andrea Camacho-Hernandez , Khorshada Jahan, and Amy Hauck Newman of the NIDA IRP Medicinal Chemistry Section. The monoamine transporters are proteins that are primarily responsible for the clearance of dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine, important monoamine neurotransmitters that are involved… [Read More]
Technology Development Initiative – Paper of the Month – January 2023
Rapid Quantum Magnetic IL-6 Point-of-Care Assay in Patients Hospitalized with COVID-19. Diagnostics.
The quantum diamond microscope system is a sensitive method to detect target proteins in a short time compared to similar immunocomplex-based detection methods (e.g. traditional ELISAs). This method does not require removal of unbound beads or extensive wash steps thus providing relatively fast and sensitive assay for measuring protein targets in pre-clinical and clinical applications. [Read More]
A red nucleus-VTA glutamate pathway underlies exercise reward and the therapeutic effect of exercise on cocaine use
Featured Paper of the Month – January 2023
Published in Science Advances by Yi He and Zheng-Xiong Xi, et al. of the NIDA IRP Addiction Biology Unit.
It is well known that physical exercise is rewarding and protective against drug abuse and addiction. However, the neural mechanisms underlying these actions are not fully understood. In this report, we found that prolonged daily voluntary wheel-running produced a more robust increase in c-fos expression in the red nucleus (RN) than in other brain regions. Subsequent neuronal tracing imaging and electrophysiological assays demonstrated that most RN neurons are glutamatergic in its magnocellular portion (RNm) and wheel-running activates a subset of RNm glutamate neurons that project to the neighboring ventral tegmental area (VTA), particularly to contralateral VTA dopamine neurons…
