Characterization of neural ensembles mediating nicotine withdrawal in adolescent rats

• Grant number: 13/14713-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Start date: October 21, 2013
• End date: December 20, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Pharmacology - Neuropsychopharmacology
• Principal Investigator: Cleopatra da Silva Planeta
• Grantee: Paula Cristina Bianchi
• Supervisor: Bruce Thomas Hope
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas (FCFAR). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Araraquara. Araraquara , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: National Institutes of Health, Baltimore (NIH), United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 11/14780-2 - Effects and consequences of ethanol consumption during the ontogeny of rats with pre-exposure to nicotine in adolescence., BP.MS

Abstract

Tobacco is considered a licit drug in the majority of countries around the world. Adolescence is considered a risk factor for drug abuse and dependence. High rates of nicotine dependence are seen among adolescents. The withdrawal effects of nicotine are considered as an important factor related to relapse to nicotine seeking. Previous studies indicate that specific patterns of sparsely distributed neurons, called neuronal ensembles, mediate drug-associated behaviors. However, any study has investigated the participation of neural ensembles on nicotine withdrawal during the adolescence. In the present study, we will investigate whether nicotine withdrawal involves activation of neuronal ensembles in different parts of the brain, such as habenula, prefrontal cortex, and nucleus accumbens. Neuronal ensembles in these areas that are activated during nicotine withdrawal will be identified by double-labeling them using fluorescent immunohistochemistry with antibodies against Fos, a protein induced within strongly activated neurons and NeuN, which marks all neurons. We will then identify the specific cell types that make up these activated neuronal ensembles with antibodies against Fos and calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CamKII), a marker of cortical glutamatergic pyramidal projection neurons, Fos and glutamic acid decarboxylase 67 (GAD67), a marker of GABAergic neurons. (AU)