Experimental Study on the Efficacy of the Drug Brizantin in the Model of Nicotine Dependence.

Experimental Study on the Efficacy of the Drug Brizantin in the Model of Nicotine Dependence.

Bull Exp Biol Med. 2012 Dec; 154(3): 339-342
Kheyfets IA, Vorob’eva TM, Veselovskaya EV, Shlyahova AV, Kirillova NA, Kolyadko SP, Berchenko OG, Dugina JL, Epstein OI

We estimated the efficacy of Brizantin preparation in suppressing nicotine dependence in rats. It was shown that nicotine-dependent rats in the situation of choice between the chamber with smoke or the chamber with food more frequently entered the chamber with tobacco smoke and stayed there longer. The rats that received Brizantin demonstrated significantly fewer visits to the chamber with smoke and spent there less time. Reduced locomotor activity and orientation and exploratory behavior in rats against the background of Brizantin administration also suggest reduced motivation for smoke inhalation. Thus, Brizantin effectively diminished nicotine dependence in rats in the model of nicotine addiction. HubMed – addiction

 

Altered Fronto-Striatal and Fronto-Cerebellar Circuits in Heroin-Dependent Individuals: A Resting-State fMRI Study.

PLoS One. 2013; 8(3): e58098
Wang Y, Zhu J, Li Q, Li W, Wu N, Zheng Y, Chang H, Chen J, Wang W

The formation of compulsive pattern of drug use is related to abnormal regional neural activity and functional reorganization in the heroin addicts’ brain, but the relationship between heroin-use-induced disrupted local neural activity and its functional organization pattern in resting-state is unknown.With fMRI data acquired during resting state from 17 male heroin dependent individuals (HD) and 15 matched normal controls (NC), we analyzed the changes of amplitude of low frequency fluctuation (ALFF) in brain areas, and its relationship with history of heroin use. Then we investigated the addiction related alteration in functional connectivity of the brain regions with changed ALFF using seed-based correlation analysis. Compared with NC, the ALFF of HD was obviously decreased in the right caudate, right dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), right superior medial frontal cortex and increased in the bilateral cerebellum, left superior temporal gyrus and left superior occipital gyrus. Of the six regions, only the ALFF value of right caudate had a negative correlation with heroin use. Setting the six regions as “seeds”, we found the functional connectivity between the right caudate and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) was reduced but that between the right caudate and cerebellum was enhanced. Besides, an abnormal lateral PFC-dACC connection was also observed in HD.The observations of dysfunction of fronto-striatal and fronto-cerebellar circuit in HD implicate an altered balance between local neuronal assemblies activity and their integrated network organization pattern which may be involved in the process from voluntary to habitual and compulsive drug use. HubMed – addiction

 

Frontal systems related symptoms in cocaine dependent patients with comorbid personality disorders.

Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2013 Mar 13;
Albein-Urios N, Martínez-González JM, Lozano O, Verdejo-Garcia A

RATIONALE: The co-occurrence of cocaine dependence and personality disorders may contribute to frontal systems-related behavioral symptoms in cocaine users. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to characterize apathy, disinhibition, and dysexecutive symptoms in cocaine users with comorbid personality disorders. METHODS: Thirty-nine participants meeting criteria for cocaine dependence and personality disorders, 35 participants meeting criteria for cocaine dependence without comorbidities, and 29 controls matched for age, education, and IQ completed the Frontal Systems Behavior Scale (FrSBe), which provides present and retrospective assessments (of the period preceding cocaine use) about apathy, disinhibition, and dysexecutive symptoms. Additionally, relatives of cocaine patients (34 relatives from comorbid patients and 31 relatives from noncomorbid patients) completed the informant version of the FrSBe. We used one-way ANOVAs to investigate present-moment differences between the groups and related samples t tests to quantify changes between pre-disorder and present-moment symptoms. RESULTS: Cocaine users with personality disorders self-reported higher present-moment apathy and disinhibition symptoms than noncomorbid users and controls. Informant ratings showed that comorbid users exhibited pre-disorder elevations in apathy, disinhibition and dysexecutive symptoms, and that these symptoms did not significantly change between the pre-disorder and the present-moment assessments. In contrast, noncomorbid users exhibited increased apathy, disinhibition, and dysexecutive symptoms at present-moment compared with pre-disorder measures. CONCLUSIONS: The co-occurrence of cocaine dependence and personality disorders is associated with elevated frontal systems-related behavioral symptoms. Comorbid and noncomorbid users differ in frontal symptoms’ trajectories, with the former showing pre-disorder stable elevations and the latter showing lower baseline symptoms but greater addiction-related elevations. HubMed – addiction