Brain glucose metabolism and dopamine transporter changes in rats with morphine-induced conditioned place preference.

Abstract

Addiction to morphine is a chronic brain disease leading to compulsive abuse. Drug addiction animal models with and without conditioned place preference (CPP) training have been used to investigate cue-elicited drug craving. We used 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18 F-FDG) and 11 C-2-β-carbomethoxy-3-β-(4-fluorophenyl)tropane (11 C-CFT) micro-PET/CT scans to examine the regional changes in brain glucose metabolism and dopamine transporter (DAT) availability to study their relationship underlying drug memory in morphine-treated rat models with and without CPP. Standardized uptake value ratio (SUVr) of 18 F-FDG significantly decreased in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and cingulate with short-term morphine administration compared with the baseline condition. Voxelwise analysis indicated glucose metabolism alterations in the somatosensory cortex, hippocampus and cingulate in morphine-treated rats and in the striatum, thalamus, medial prefrontal cortex, primary motor cortex and many regions in the cortex in the CPP group compared with the baseline condition. Alterative glucose metabolism was also observed in the striatum, primary somatosensory cortex and some cortical regions in the CPP group compared with morphine alone group. DAT expression alterations were only observed in the long-term morphine compared with the short-term morphine group. This study shows that cerebral glucose metabolism significantly altered during morphine administration and CPP process mainly in the mPFC, striatum and hippocampus, which indicates that the function of these brain regions is involved in cue-induced craving and memory retrieval.

• Authors: Da Shao, Donglang Jiang, Qi Huang, Shuhua Ren, Junpeng Li, Jianfei Xiao, Yihui Guan, Bin Lai, Jun Zhao, Fang Xie, Fengchun Hua
• Journal: Addiction biology (Addict Biol) Vol. 28 Issue 5 Pg. e13277 (05 2023) ISSN: 1369-1600 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 37186440 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
• Copyright: © 2023 Society for the Study of Addiction.

Chemical References

• Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins
• Fluorodeoxyglucose F18
• Glucose
• Morphine
• Slc6a3 protein, rat

Topics

• Animals
• Rats
• Brain (diagnostic imaging)
• Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins
• Fluorodeoxyglucose F18
• Glucose
• Morphine (pharmacology)
• Positron Emission Tomography Computed Tomography