The Effect of Acute and Chronic High Fructose Corn Syrup Pre- exposure on Naltrexone-Induced Conditioned Place Aversion

The Effect of Acute and Chronic High Fructose Corn Syrup Pre-exposure on Naltrexone-Induced Conditioned Place Aversion Stephen Daniels Advisor University of Guelph, 2015 Dr. Francesco Leri Withdrawal is a major component of addiction. Antagonism of mu-­‐opioid receptors (MOR) results in withdrawal following ingestion of sugars and drugs of abuse. We hypothesize that naltrexone (NTX) will precipitate affective withdrawal following ingestion of HFCS. Affective withdrawal was assessed using conditioned place avoidance (CPA). Food restriction was employed to investigate the effects of increased HFCS consumption. In a separate experiment intragastric infusions of HFCS will be given prior to NTX conditioning. Effects will be compared with CPA after acute and chronic heroin. NTX-­‐induced a CPA in naïve animals regardless of HFCS exposure. Increased HFCS consumption resulted in NTX-­‐induced CPA with both intragastric administration and food restriction, not seen with 0% HFCS. A significant CPA was observed after acute and chronic heroin administration, which was greater than control animals. Therefore, NTX failed to precipitate an affective withdrawal after pre-­‐exposure to HFCS that was comparable with heroin.