scholarly journals Alterations in Excitatory and Inhibitory Synaptic Development Within the Mesolimbic Dopamine Pathway in a Mouse Model of Prenatal Drug Exposure

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taylor Boggess ◽  
James C. Williamson ◽  
Ethan B. Niebergall ◽  
Hannah Sexton ◽  
Anna Mazur ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mouse Model ◽  
Drug Exposure ◽  
Drugs Of Abuse ◽  
The United States ◽  
Prenatal Drug Exposure ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Synaptic Connectivity ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Mesolimbic Dopamine ◽  
Mesolimbic Dopamine Pathway

The rise in rates of opioid abuse in recent years in the United States has led to a dramatic increase in the incidence of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). Despite improved understanding of NAS and its acute symptoms, there remains a paucity of information regarding the long-term effects of prenatal exposure to drugs of abuse on neurological development. The primary goal of this study was to investigate the effects of prenatal drug exposure on synaptic connectivity within brain regions associated with the mesolimbic dopamine pathway, the primary reward pathway associated with drug abuse and addiction, in a mouse model. Our secondary goal was to examine the role of the Ca+2 channel subunit α2δ-1, known to be involved in key developmental synaptogenic pathways, in mediating these effects. Pregnant mouse dams were treated orally with either the opioid drug buprenorphine (commonly used in medication-assisted treatment for substance use patients), gabapentin (neuropathic pain drug that binds to α2δ-1 and has been increasingly co-abused with opioids), a combination of both drugs, or vehicle daily from gestational day 6 until postnatal day 11. Confocal fluorescence immunohistochemistry (IHC) imaging of the brains of the resulting wild-type (WT) pups at postnatal day 21 revealed a number of significant alterations in excitatory and inhibitory synaptic populations within the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), nucleus accumbens (NAC), and medial prefrontal cortex (PFC), particularly in the buprenorphine or combinatorial buprenorphine/gabapentin groups. Furthermore, we observed several drug- and region-specific differences in synaptic connectivity between WT and α2δ-1 haploinsufficient mice, indicating that critical α2δ-1-associated synaptogenic pathways are disrupted with early life drug exposure.

scholarly journals Alterations in excitatory and inhibitory synaptic development within the mesolimbic dopamine pathway in a mouse model of prenatal drug exposure

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taylor Boggess ◽  
Hannah Sexton ◽  
Anna Mazur ◽  
Richard D. Egleton ◽  
Lawrence M. Grover ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mouse Model ◽  
Drug Exposure ◽  
Drugs Of Abuse ◽  
Prenatal Drug Exposure ◽  
Opioid Abuse ◽  
Mesolimbic Dopamine ◽  
Synaptic Development ◽  
Microscopy Imaging ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Mesolimbic Dopamine Pathway

AbstractThe rise in rates of opioid abuse in recent years has led to an increase in the incidence of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). Despite having a greater understanding of NAS and its symptoms, there still remains a lack of information surrounding the long-term effects of prenatal exposure to drugs of abuse on neurological development. One potential outcome of prenatal drug exposure that has been increasingly explored is disruption in normal synaptogenesis within the central nervous system. Both opioids and gabapentin, an antiepileptic drug commonly co-abused by opioid abuse disorder patients, have been shown to interfere with the normal functioning of astrocytes, non-neuronal glial cells known to serve many functions, including regulation of synaptic development. The goal of this study was to investigate the effects of prenatal drug exposure on synaptogenesis within brain regions associated with the mesolimbic dopamine pathway, the primary reward pathway within the brain associated with drug abuse and addiction, in a pregnant mouse model. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) and confocal fluorescence microscopy imaging studies on the brains of postnatal day 21 (P21) mouse pups revealed a significant increase in the mean number of excitatory synapses within the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), nucleus accumbens (NAc), and prefrontal cortex (PFC) in mice that were prenatally exposed to either the opioid drug buprenorphine or gabapentin. These studies also revealed a significant decrease in the mean number of inhibitory synapses within the NAc and PFC of mice treated with buprenorphine. This observed net increase in excitatory signaling capability within the developing mesolimbic dopamine pathway suggests that exposure to drugs of abuse in utero can trigger maladaptive neuronal connectivity that persists beyond the earliest stages of life.

scholarly journals Long-term effects of prenatal drug exposure on the neural correlates of memory at encoding and retrieval

2018 ◽  
Vol 65 ◽  
pp. 70-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fengji Geng ◽  
Betty Jo Salmeron ◽  
Thomas J. Ross ◽  
Maureen M. Black ◽  
Tracy Riggins
Keyword(s):  
Drug Exposure ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Prenatal Drug Exposure ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Encoding And Retrieval

A mouse model of early social interactions after prenatal drug exposure: a genetic investigation

1994 ◽  
Vol 113 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 388-394 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Laviola ◽  
Maria Livia Terranova ◽  
Kofi Sedowofia ◽  
Ruth Clayton ◽  
Aubrey Manning
Keyword(s):  
Mouse Model ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Drug Exposure ◽  
Prenatal Drug Exposure ◽  
Genetic Investigation

Undesirable Effects of Goal Setting on Perceived Fairness, Commitment, and Unethical Behavior

2018 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 97-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Keith
Keyword(s):  
Goal Setting ◽  
Unethical Behavior ◽  
The United States ◽  
Goal Commitment ◽  
Management Technique ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Perceived Fairness ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
And Performance

Abstract. The positive effects of goal setting on motivation and performance are among the most established findings of industrial–organizational psychology. Accordingly, goal setting is a common management technique. Lately, however, potential negative effects of goal-setting, for example, on unethical behavior, are increasingly being discussed. This research replicates and extends a laboratory experiment conducted in the United States. In one of three goal conditions (do-your-best goals, consistently high goals, increasingly high goals), 101 participants worked on a search task in five rounds. Half of them (transparency yes/no) were informed at the outset about goal development. We did not find the expected effects on unethical behavior but medium-to-large effects on subjective variables: Perceived fairness of goals and goal commitment were least favorable in the increasing-goal condition, particularly in later goal rounds. Results indicate that when designing goal-setting interventions, organizations may consider potential undesirable long-term effects.

Leaded Aviation Fuel May Present Long-Term Effects on Campus Life from the Adjacent Albert Whitted Airport

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Matthews ◽  
Madhu Pandey
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Particulate Matter ◽  
The United States ◽  
Aviation Fuel ◽  
University Campus ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Aviation Gasoline ◽  
Suspended Particulate ◽  
Descent Line

Propeller planes and small engine aircraft around the United States, legally utilize leaded aviation gasoline. The purpose of this experiment was to collect suspended particulate matter from a university campus, directly below an airport’s arriving flight path’s descent line, and to analyze lead content suspended in the air. Two collection sets of three separate samples were collected on six separate days, one set in July of 2018 and the second set in January 2019.

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