Psychopharmacology
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The use and misuse of prescription opiates in adolescent populations, and in particular, adolescent female populations, has increased dramatically in the past two decades. Given the significant role that opioids play in neuroendocrine function, exposure to opiates during this critical developmental period could have significant consequences for the female, as well as her offspring. ⋯ These results suggest significant modifications in response to repeated D2R activation in the progeny of females exposed to opiates during adolescence. Given the significant role that the D2R plays in psychopathology, adolescent opiate exposure could shift the vulnerability of future offspring to psychological disorders, including addiction. Moreover, that effects are also observed in the F2 generation suggests that adolescent opiate exposure can trigger transgenerational epigenetic modifications impacting systems critical for motivated behavior.
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Isolation rearing in rodents causes not only abnormal behaviors which resemble the clinical symptoms of schizophrenia but also hypoalgesia in thermal nociception models. However, the mechanism of the hypoalgesia is not known. ⋯ These findings suggest that isolation rearing causes hypoalgesia in mouse models of acute pain and imply that the spinal 5-HT1A receptor activation probably through descending serotonergic inhibitory pathway is involved in isolation rearing-induced hypoalgesia.
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Hypericum perforatum, popularly called St. John's wort (SJW), is a medicinal plant mainly used as antidepressant with a favorable safety profile than standard antidepressants. Some studies have also documented other SJW bioactivities, including pain modulation. ⋯ SJW reversed NO-induced nociceptive hypersensitivity through the blockade of a supraspinal signaling pathway involving a PKC-dependent CREB, STAT1 and NF-κB activation due to presence of hypericin. These data indicate SJW/hypericin as a therapeutic perspective for pain treatment.