Roles of opioid receptor subtypes in mediating alcohol-seeking induced by discrete cues and context.

Peter W Marinelli, Douglas Funk, Stephen Harding, Zhaoxia Li, Walter Juzytsch, A D Lê

Index: Eur. J. Neurosci. 30(4) , 671-8, (2009)

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the effects of selective blockade of the delta (DOP) or mu (MOP) opioid receptors on alcohol-seeking induced by discrete cues and context. In Experiment 1, rats were trained to self-administer alcohol in an environment with distinct sensory properties. After extinction in a different context with separate sensory properties, rats were tested for context-induced renewal in the original context following treatment with the DOP receptor antagonist naltrindole (0-15 mg/kg, i.p.) or the MOP receptor antagonist D-Phe-Cys-Tyr-D-Trp-Orn-Thr-Pen-Thr-NH(2) (CTOP) (0-3 microg/4 microL, i.c.v.). In Experiment 2, reinstatement was tested with the presentation of a discrete light + tone cue previously associated with alcohol delivery, following extinction without the cue. The effects of naltrindole (0-5 mg/kg, i.p.) or CTOP (0-3 microg/4 microL, i.c.v.) were assessed. For context-induced renewal, 7.5 mg/kg naltrindole reduced responding without affecting locomotor activity. Both doses of CTOP attenuated responding in the first 15 min of the renewal test session; however, total responses did not differ at the end of the session. For discrete-cue-induced reinstatement, 1 and 5 mg/kg naltrindole attenuated responding but CTOP had no effect. We conclude that whereas DOP receptors mediate alcohol-seeking induced by discrete cues and context, MOP receptors may play a modest role only in context-induced renewal. These findings point to a differential involvement of opioid receptor subtypes in the effects of different kinds of conditioned stimuli on alcohol-seeking and support a more prominent role for DOP receptors.