Involvement of endocannabinoid system on locomotor cross-sensitization between social isolament stress and cocaine in adolescent mice.

• Grant number: 22/02379-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: July 01, 2022
• End date: December 31, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Pharmacology - Neuropsychopharmacology
• Principal Investigator: Fabio Cardoso Cruz
• Grantee: Ariany de Fatima Kanashiro
• Host Institution: Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus São Paulo. São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 18/15505-4 - Neurobiology study of relapse to alcohol and cocaine seeking: identification of plasticity in neuronal ensembles that encodes addiction-related memories, AP.JP2

Abstract

Stress is an environmental risk factor for neuropsychiatric disorders. Social isolation is an example of a stressor that can impair the individual's quality of life and increase vulnerability to the development of drug use disorders. Studies show that chronic stress may alter the functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and that repeated exposure to stress may impair the negative feedback mechanisms of the HPA axis modulation, exerted by glucocorticoid (GR), mineralocorticoid (MR), and cannabinoids receptor 1 (CB1). Neuroadaptations in HPA axis function and in the receptors responsible for its regulation have been associated with stress-induced behavioral changes. Therefore, we aim to evaluate the effects of social isolation in adolescence on cross-locomotor sensitization with cocaine, the plasma corticosterone response to this drug, and the levels of GR, MR, and CB1 in male Swiss mice. Furthermore, we will investigate the impacts of social isolation in adolescence on locomotor and hypothalamic neuronal activation response to cocaine after acute exposure to a heterotypic stressor (rat exposure test).