Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
5844197 | Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry | 2015 | 12 Pages |
Abstract
Previous studies have demonstrated that social defeat stress increases the rewarding effects of psychostimulant drugs such as cocaine and amphetamine. In the present study we evaluated the long-term effects of repeated social defeat (RSD) on the rewarding effects of ± 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) hydrochloride in the conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigm. Adolescent and young adult mice were exposed to four episodes of social defeat (on PND 29-40 and PND 47-56, respectively) and were conditioned three weeks later with 1.25 or 10 mg/kg i.p. of MDMA (experiment 1). The long-term effects of RSD on anxiety, social behavior and cognitive processes were also evaluated in adult mice (experiment 2). RSD during adolescence enhanced vulnerability to priming-induced reinstatement in animals conditioned with 1.25 mg/kg of MDMA and increased the duration of the CPP induced by the 10 mg/kg of MDMA. The latter effect was also observed after RSD in young adult mice, as well as an increase in anxiety-like behavior, an alteration in social interaction (reduction in attack and increase in avoidance/flee and defensive/submissive behaviors) and an impairment of maze learning. These results support the idea that RSD stress increases the rewarding effects of MDMA and induces long-term alterations in anxiety, learning and social behavior in adult mice. Thus, exposure to stress may increase the vulnerability of individuals to developing MDMA dependence, which is a factor to be taken into account in relation to the prevention and treatment of this disorder.
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Authors
M.P. GarcÃa-Pardo, M.C. Blanco-GandÃa, M. Valiente-Lluch, M. RodrÃguez-Arias, J. Miñarro, M.A. Aguilar,