Objective: The effect of linalool, a terpene alcohol found in many plants, which inhibits NMDA receptors, on the acquisition and reinstatement of morphine-induced conditioned place preference (CPP) was evaluated in mice.Material and Methods: The effects of different doses of linalool (12.5, 25 and 50 mg/kg, i.p.), memantine (20 mg/kg, an NMDA receptor antagonist) and saline, in CPP induced by 4...

background it has been elucidated that berberis vulgaris (barberry) can alleviate morphine withdrawal syndrome. also it has been reported that aqueous extract of barberry possibly have inhibitory effect on nmda receptors. objectives in this study, we decided to evaluate the effects of aqueous extract of b. vulgaris fruit on morphine tendency in mice using conditioned place preference (cpp) meth...

Aptness, defined as how the vehicle is well able to cover the salient features of the tenor (e.g., oil is like liquid gold vs. a train is like a worm), is claimed to be an important factor in the preference for metaphors over similes, or vice versa. This study was an attempt to test for the supposed correlation between the perceived degree of aptness and a priori stylistic preference for metaph...

In the conditioned place preference test, phencyclidine (PCP) produces place aversion in naive rats, whereas PCP produces place preference in rats treated with PCP repeatedly. Although the PCP-induced place aversion is thought to involve the serotonergic system, the mechanisms of the PCP-induced place preference are unclear. We investigated whether the dopaminergic system is involved in place p...

Methand other amphetamines currently present major drug-abuse concerns. However, the demonstration and study of abuse-related behaviors expressed in animal models is expensive and time-consuming. We previously reported a novel model of conditioned place preference (CPP), which is a standard tool in abuse research, in invertebrates (planarians). In the present study, planarians were tested for l...

Levamisole is estimated by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to be present in about 80% of cocaine seized in the United States and linked to debilitating, and sometimes fatal, immunologic effects in cocaine abusers. One explanation for the addition of levamisole to cocaine is that it increases the amount of product and enhances profits. An alternative possibility, and one investigated here, is ...

Social behaviors of wild animals are often considered within an ultimate framework of adaptive benefits versus survival risks. By contrast, studies of laboratory animals more typically focus on affective aspects of behavioral decisions, whether a rodent derives a rewarding experience from social encounter, and how this experience might be initiated and maintained by neural circuits. Artificial ...

Convergent evidence suggests that amphetamine (AMPH) exerts its rewarding and locomotor stimulating effects via release of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens. However, there is no consensus as to the relative contributions of core and medial shell subregions to these effects. Moreover, the literature is based primarily on intracranial administration, which cannot fully mimic the drug distributio...

Studies using mice and rats have demonstrated that nicotine induces a conditioned place preference (CPP), with more effective results obtained by using biased procedures. Zebrafish have also been used as a model system to identify factors influencing nicotine-associated reward by using an unbiased design. Here, we report that zebrafish exhibited putative nicotine biased CPP to an initially aver...

Reconfiguration of extracellular matrix proteins appears to be necessary for the synaptic plasticity that underlies memory consolidation. The primary candidates involved in controlling this process are a family of endopeptidases called matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs); however, the potential role of MMPs in nicotine addiction-related memories has not been adequately tested. Present results indi...