Effect of interneuronal precursor stem cell transplantation into the basolateral amygdala in amphetamine addiction process

• Grant number: 15/17878-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: January 01, 2016
• End date: December 31, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Pharmacology - Neuropsychopharmacology
• Principal Investigator: Beatriz de Oliveira Monteiro
• Grantee: Raphael Wuo da Silva
• Host Institution: Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus São Paulo. São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The neuronal precursor cells from the medial ganglionic eminence (MGE) are able of differentiate into GABAergic interneurons. The MGE transplantation has been shown relevance in the treatment of diseases such as epilepsy, Alzheimer's and anxiety disorders.Addiction of drugs of abuse, such as amphetamine, is a chronic disease of the central nervous system, characterized by compulsive behavior of drug-seeking and drug-taking and the high rate of relapse, of which attempt to treatment has been ineffective. An important aspect of the development of addiction is the association (conditioning) between the reinforcing effects of drugs of abuse and the environmental context. Such associations form memories that are responsible for reactivate the seeking behavior by the drug and lead to relapse.One of the brain structures involved in the process of associations between the drug use and the environmental context, and consequently, the formation and recall of memories related to drug use is the basolateral amygdala. It has been shown that inactivation of the basolateral amygdala by pharmacological drugs inhibit the associative learning between drugs and environmental cues and facilitates the process of extinguishing memories related to the drug. Thus, an effective treatment for addiction of amphetamine could be the inactivation of the basolateral amygdala and consequently, inhibtion of association between reinforcing effects of amphetamine and environmental context.Therefore, the MGE cells transplantated in the basolateral amygdala could modify the neurocircuitry in this brain structure and facilitate the extiction of memories related to conditioning between the reforcing effects of amphetamine and environmental context and thus inhibit the relapse. This project aims to investigate the effects of the MGE cells transplanted in the basolateral amygdala in the addiction to amphetamine using the animal model of conditioned place preference. (AU)