Increased cocaine reward in offspring of females exposed to morphine during adolescence

A history of opioid exposure in females increases the risk of metabolic disorders in their future male offspring

“…We have previously measured self‐administration of sucrose pellets in MORF1 males (fixed ratio and progressive ratio) and did not observes any significant differences when compared with SALF1 males 47 ; however, it is possible that either the high fat component of the FSD or the continuous availability of this highly palatable food stimulated increased feeding behaviors in MORF1 males. Indeed, endogenous opioids have been demonstrated to influence the hedonic value of highly palatable food, 48 suggesting that dysregulation of opioid modulation of reward systems, similar to what we have observed in previous studies 11,13 …”

“…Indeed, endogenous opioids have been demonstrated to influence the hedonic value of highly palatable food, 48 suggesting that dysregulation of opioid modulation of reward systems, similar to what we have observed in previous studies. 11,13 Impairments in glucose homeostasis also emerged in FSD-MORF1 males. To examine more proximal mechanisms underlying MORF1 fasting hyperglycemia, insulin and CORT were also evaluated.…”

“…In these previous studies, altered opioid‐mediated regulation of homeostatic processes regulated within the hypothalamus were observed and those effects persisted for two generations in male, but not female, offspring of morphine‐exposed females (MORF1 males) 12 . Additional studies found that proopioimelanocortin ( Pomc) gene expression was up‐regulated in both adolescent and adult MORF1 males, but not MORF1 females 10,13 . The hypothalamic opiomelanocortin system originates in the arcuate nucleus (ARC), where several neuropeptides involved in the regulation of sexual maturation, bodyweight, and metabolism are produced 14–16 .…”

“…12 Additional studies found that proopioimelanocortin (Pomc) gene expression was up-regulated in both adolescent and adult MORF1 males, but not MORF1 females. 10,13 The hypothalamic opiomelanocortin system originates in the arcuate nucleus (ARC), where several neuropeptides involved in the regulation of sexual maturation, bodyweight, and metabolism are produced. [14][15][16] Previous findings in both animals and humans suggest that changes in the regulation of POMC neurons may play an important role in transgenerational epigenetic effects associated with parental nutrition.…”

Paternal morphine self-administration produces object recognition memory deficits in female, but not male offspring

“…Exposure to drugs of abuse changes several components of the epigenetic landscape, including acetylation of histones and DNA methylation in sperm of both rodents (Le et al 2017;Vassoler et al 2013) and humans (Chorbov et al 2011). Paternal drug exposure causes disruptions in a multitude of behaviors, including drug sensitivity and reward, anxiety, and memory in offspring (Goldberg and Gould 2018;Pierce et al 2018;Vassoler et al 2018a;Yaw et al 2019;Yaw et al 2018;Yohn et al 2015). Paternal cocaine exposure produced increased anxiety in offspring whether cocaine was experimenteradministered (Fischer et al 2017) or self-administered by the sires (White et al 2016).…”