Animal Models of Addiction

Willner, Paul

doi:10.1002/(sici)1099-1077(199706)12:2+<s59::aid-hup903>3.0.co;2-0

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 57 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…It can be speculated that dopamine released in the nucleus accumbens (a part of the limbic forebrain) on chronic treatment with THC [69] may in turn trigger anandamide formation (as previously shown for the dorsal striatum [64]). A similar stimulatory action by dopamine may also explain the finding of a trend for enhanced levels of anandamide in the cerebrospinal fluid of schizophrenic patients [66], where an hyperactivity of the dopaminergic signalling system was suggested to occur [70]. Overall, these findings suggest that drugs reinforcing (i.e.…”

Section: Central Nervous Systemmentioning

confidence: 66%

Endocannabinoids New Targets for Drug Development

Marzo¹,

Bisogno²,

Petrocellis³

2000

CPD

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The possible therapeutic use of marijuana s active principles, the cannabinoids, is currently being debated. It is now known that these substances exert several of their pharmacological actions by activating specific cell membrane receptors, the CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid receptor subtypes. This knowledge led to the design of synthetic cannabinoid agonists and antagonists with high therapeutic potential. The recent discovery of the endocannabinoids, i.e. endogenous metabolites capable of activating the cannabinoid receptors, and the understanding of the molecular mechanisms leading to their biosynthesis and inactivation, opened a new era in research on the pharmaceutical applications of cannabinoids. Ongoing studies on the pathological and physiological conditions regulating the tissue levels of endocannabinoids, and on the pharmacological activity of these compounds and their derivatives, may provide a lead for the development of new drugs for the treatment of nervous and immune disorders, cardiovascular diseases, pain, inflammation and cancer. These studies are reviewed in this article with special emphasis on the chemical features that determine the interaction of endocannabinoids with the proteins mediating their activity and degradation.

show abstract

Section: Central Nervous Systemmentioning

confidence: 66%

Endocannabinoids New Targets for Drug Development

Marzo¹,

Bisogno²,

Petrocellis³

2000

CPD

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…These are typically assessed in humans using subjective questionnaires and drug self-administration paradigms (Comer et al, 2008a; Haney and Spealman, 2008). Preclinically, self-administration and condition place preference (CPP) paradigms are commonly used to examine the reinforcing and rewarding effects of drugs (Epstein et al, 2006; Haney and Spealman, 2008; Willner, 1997). The abuse potential of μ-opioid receptor agonists has been extensively demonstrated in rodents, non-human primates, and humans (see Kieffer and Gavériaux-Ruff, 2002; Preston and Jasinki, 1991 and Trigo et al, 2010 for reviews).…”

Section: A Brief Overview Of Opioid Abusementioning

confidence: 99%

Polydrug abuse: A review of opioid and benzodiazepine combination use

Jones

Mogali

Comer

2012

Drug and Alcohol Dependence

593

411

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper reviews studies examining the pharmacological interactions and epidemiology of the combined use of opioids and benzodiazepines (BZD). A search of English language publications from 1970 - 2012 was conducted using PubMed and PsycINFO®. Our search found approximately 200 articles appropriate for inclusion in this paper. While numerous reports indicate that the co-abuse of opioids and BZDs is ubiquitous around the world, the reasons for the co-abuse of these medications are not entirely clear. Though the possibility remains that opioid (ab)users are using BZDs therapeutically to self-medicate anxiety, mania or insomnia, the data reviewed in this paper suggest that BZD use is primarily recreational. For example, co-users report seeking BZD prescriptions for the purpose of enhancing opioid intoxication or “high,” and use doses that exceed the therapeutic range. Since there are few clinical studies investigating the pharmacological interaction and abuse liability of their combined use, this hypothesis has not been extensively evaluated in clinical settings. As such, our analysis encourages further systematic investigation of BZD abuse among opioid users. The co-abuse of BZDs and opioids is substantial and has negative consequences for general health, overdose lethality, and treatment outcome. Physicians should address this important and underappreciated problem with more cautious prescribing practices, and increased vigilance for abusive patterns of use.

show abstract

“…D 2 receptors also are believed to mediate the reinforcing, dependency-producing effects of a variety of dissimilar drugs of abuse. Reinforcing effects of alcohol and morphine self-administration are diminished in D 2 receptor gene knockout mice and by pretreatment with D 2 antagonists. − Treatments of psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia include traditional neuroleptics (e.g., chlorpromazine, fluphenazine, haloperidol) introduced in the 1950s and modern, atypical, or “second-generation” antipsychotics (e.g., aripiprazole, clozapine, iloperidone, lurasidone, olanzapine, paliperidone, quetiapine, risperidone, ziprasidone). − Both types of antipsychotics have broad utility in the treatment of mania, schizophrenia, and other psychotic disorders, but the modern agents are generally less potent D 2 antagonists and more potent antagonists of serotonin 5-HT 2A (5-hydroxytryptamine) receptors, and they pose less risk of adverse acute and late extrapyramidal neurological effects. Modern antipsychotic drugs are approximately as effective as the classic neuroleptics but with limited or different safety concerns.…”

Section: Pharmacology Of Dopamine Receptor Subtypesmentioning

confidence: 99%