Psychopharmacology
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Dopamine signaling in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) plays an important role in regulating drug-taking and drug-seeking behaviors, but the role of D(1)- and D(2)-like receptors in this regulation remains unclear. ⋯ Both D(1) and D(2) receptors in the NAc play a prominent, and perhaps cooperative, role in regulating cocaine-taking and cocaine-seeking behaviors.
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Comparative Study
Toluene exposure during the brain growth spurt reduces behavioral responses to noncompetitive N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonists in adult rats.
Toluene exposure during brain growth spurt has been shown to elevate the seizure susceptibility induced by N-methyl-D: -aspartate (NMDA). In the present study, behavioral responses to NMDA antagonists were studied to determine whether neonatal toluene exposure produces residual deficits in the NMDA glutamatergic system controlling behaviors. We also investigated if the effect of toluene exposure depends strongly on the developmental stage. ⋯ These results indicate that neonatal but not adolescent toluene exposure produces long-term effects on selective behaviors induced by NMDA antagonists. Theses findings further support the hypothesis that functional changes in NMDA receptors may be related to the neurobehavioral dysfunction associated with fetal solvent syndrome.
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Comparative Study
Anti-nociception is selectively enhanced by parallel inhibition of multiple subtypes of monoamine transporters in rat models of persistent and neuropathic pain.
Neuropathic pain is characterised by hyperexcitability within nociceptive pathways that manifests behaviourally as allodynia and hyperalgesia and remains difficult to treat with standard analgesics. However, antidepressants have shown reasonable preclinical and clinical anti-nociceptive efficacy against signs and symptoms of neuropathic pain. ⋯ Combined re-uptake inhibition of 5-HT and NA appears to confer a greater degree of anti-nociception in animal models of experimental pain than single mechanism of action inhibitors. The selective attenuation of mechanical allodynia by bupropion suggests that the additional re-uptake of DA may further augment 5-HT/NA re-uptake mediated anti-nociception after nerve injury.