Drug combinations that include the psychostimulant methylphenidate plus a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) such as fluoxetine are increasingly used in children and adolescents. For example, this combination is indicated in the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and depression comorbidity and other mental disorders. Such co-exposure also occurs in patients on SSRIs that use methylphenidate as a cognitive enhancer. The neurobiological consequences of these drug combinations are poorly understood. Methylphenidate alone can produce gene regulation effects that mimic addiction-related gene regulation by cocaine, consistent with its moderate addiction liability. We have previously shown that combining SSRIs with methylphenidate potentiates methylphenidate-induced gene regulation in the striatum. The present study investigated which striatal output pathways are affected by the methylphenidate+fluoxetine combination, by assessing effects on pathway-specific neuropeptide markers, and which serotonin receptor subtypes may mediate these effects. Our results demonstrate that a 5-day repeated treatment with fluoxetine (5 mg/kg) potentiates methylphenidate (5 mg/kg)-induced expression of both dynorphin (direct pathway marker) and enkephalin (indirect pathway). These changes were accompanied by correlated increases in the expression of the 5-HT1B, but not 5-HT2C, serotonin receptor in the same striatal regions. A further study showed that the 5-HT1B receptor agonist CP94253 (3-10 mg/kg) mimics the fluoxetine potentiation of methylphenidate-induced gene regulation. These findings suggest a role for the 5-HT1B receptor in the fluoxetine effects on striatal gene regulation. Given that 5-HT1B receptors are known to facilitate addiction-related gene regulation and behavior, our results suggest that SSRIs may enhance the addiction liability of methylphenidate by increasing 5-HT1B receptor signaling.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.