We have shown previously that withdrawal from morphine induces immunosuppression in mice. The present study reports the effects of morphine withdrawal on infection with Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. Mice were made dependent on morphine by the implantation of a slow-release morphine pellet for 96 h. Controls received a placebo pellet. Withdrawal was induced by pellet removal. Mice wer...

Morphine dependence is associated with long-term adaptive changes in the brain that involve gene expression. Different behavioral effects of morphine are mediated by different brain regions, for example, the locus ceruleus (LC), a noradrenergic nucleus, is implicated in physical dependence and withdrawal, whereas the ventral tegmental area (VTA), a dopaminergic nucleus, contributes to rewarding...

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of extremely low-frequency electromagnetic field (ELF-EMF) exposure during morphine treatment on dopamine D2 receptor (D2R) density in the rat dorsal hippocampus following withdrawal. Rats were exposed to ELF-EMF (20 Hz, 14 mT) or sham exposed for 1h per day before injection of morphine (10mg/kg, i.p.) once daily for 12 days. The saline contro...

Introduction: Calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) is highly expressed in the hippocampus, which has a pivotal role in reward-related memories and morphine dependence. Methods: In the present study, morphine tolerance was induced in male Wistar rats by 7 days repeated morphine injections once daily, and then gene expression profile of α-isoform of CaMKII (CaMKIIα) in the hipp...

There is growing evidence indicating that neuronal calcium channels play an important role in the mechanism of morphine dependence. In this study, the effects of acute and chronic administration of nitrendipine on naloxone precipitated morphine withdrawal signs were investigated. Mice were rendered dependent to morphine by subcutaneous injection of morphine over a period of 5 days. In chronic s...

Glycyl-glutamine (Gly-Gln; beta-endorphin(30-31)) is an endogenous dipeptide synthesized from beta-endorphin(1-31). Previous investigations have shown that Gly-Gln inhibits the cardiovascular and respiratory depression caused by morphine and beta-endorphin(1-31), but it does not interfere with opioid analgesia. In this study, we tested whether Gly-Gln administration would influence morphine-ind...

objective(s): drug addiction is one of the fastest growing social problems that researchers, for many years, have been trying to find proper strategies for its prevention and treatment. short-term physical activity is considered as acceptable for the treatment and prevention of addiction. on the other hand, prefrontal cortex is known to be responsible for many of the complex behavioral response...

Mice were rendered tolerant and dependent to morphine by subcutaneous injection of morphine over a period of 5 days. The effects of acute and chronic administration of dihydropyridine calcium channel antagonist nifedipine on the development of tolerance and naloxone-precipitated morphine withdrawal signs were investigated. A single injection of nifedipine proved to be effective in inhibiti...

BACKGROUND The central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) is a crucial component of the neuronal circuitry mediating aversive emotion. Its role in the negative affective states during drug withdrawal includes changes in opioidergic, GABAergic, and corticotropin-releasing factor neurotransmission. However, the modulation of the neurobiological interconnectivity in the CeA and its effects in the negat...