The opioid epidemic is a rapidly evolving societal issue that stems from the abuse of prescription and illicit opioids, including increasing use of synthetic opioids like fentanyl. Fentanyl use among women has increased substantially in the last decade, leading to a 40-fold increase in the number of perinatally-exposed infants. This exposure can result in neuropsychiatric abnormalities that persist into adolescence and, in some cases, adulthood. We previously developed a preclinical model to establish the consequences of perinatal fentanyl exposure and identified a pattern of synaptic pathophysiology that involves lasting impairments in primary somatosensory (S1) circuit function and behavior. Here, we ask if these long-lasting effects can be restored by a non-invasive intervention. We demonstrate that developmental exposure to environmental enrichment ameliorates many of fentanyl's deleterious behavioral effects, including hyperactivity, enhanced sensitivity to anxiogenic environments, and sensory maladaptation. As an extension of our past work, we found that perinatal fentanyl alters the frequency of miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents and impairs long-term potentiation in S1 layer 2/3 neurons. These deficits in synaptic function were restored by environmental enrichment. Environmental enrichment also affected neurons in control mice, reducing long-term potentiation and depression, and increasing frequency of miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents. These results demonstrate that the lasting somatosensory-related effects of fentanyl can be ameliorated with a non-invasive intervention introduced during early development. These findings can inform ongoing efforts to develop actionable steps toward mitigating the consequences of opioid abuse among pregnant women.
Environmental Enrichment Restores Memory Functioning in Mice with Impaired IL-1 Signaling via Reinstatement of Long-Term Potentiation and Spine Size Enlargement
