Addiction Rehab: Social Deprivation Enhances VTA Synaptic Plasticity and Drug-Induced Contextual Learning.

Social Deprivation Enhances VTA Synaptic Plasticity and Drug-Induced Contextual Learning.

Filed under: Addiction Rehab

Neuron. 2013 Jan 23; 77(2): 335-45
Whitaker LR, Degoulet M, Morikawa H

Drug addiction is driven, in part, by powerful drug-related memories. Deficits in social life, particularly during adolescence, increase addiction vulnerability. Social isolation in rodents has been used extensively to model the effects of deficient social experience, yet its impact on learning and memory processes underlying addiction remains elusive. Here, we show that social isolation of rats during a critical period of adolescence (postnatal days 21-42) enhances long-term potentiation of NMDA receptor (NMDAR)-mediated glutamatergic transmission in the ventral tegmental area (VTA). This enhancement, which is caused by an increase in metabotropic glutamate receptor-dependent Ca(2+) signaling, cannot be reversed by subsequent resocialization. Notably, memories of amphetamine- and ethanol-paired contextual stimuli are acquired faster and, once acquired, amphetamine-associated contextual memory is more resistant to extinction in socially isolated rats. We propose that NMDAR plasticity in the VTA may represent a neural substrate by which early life deficits in social experience increase addiction vulnerability.
HubMed – addiction

Social functioning in first contact mania: Clinical and neurocognitive correlates.

Filed under: Addiction Rehab

Compr Psychiatry. 2013 Jan 22;
Hellvin T, Sundet K, Aminoff SR, Andreassen OA, Melle I

PURPOSE: To study social functioning, and its relationship with clinical and neurocognitive variables, in patients having their first treatment contact for a manic episode. METHODS: A total of 55 first contact mania patients, 34 with a first manic episode (FM) and 21 with previously untreated manic episodes (PM), and 110 healthy control subjects matched for age, sex and education to the patient group, completed the Social Functioning Scale (SFS), a self-reported assessment of social functioning. The patients also completed a broad neuropsychological test battery. RESULTS: Both patient groups scored significantly lower on self-rated social functioning compared to healthy controls, with PM patients reporting significantly lower functioning than FM patients. There were no significant correlations between clinical symptoms and social functioning. On a trend level, a reduced SFS score was associated with more cannabis use, higher levels of depression and more depressive episodes as well as an earlier age at onset. There was no significant association between social function and neurocognition. CONCLUSIONS: Social dysfunction was present in patients with BD at first treatment contact-the main predictors of which being the severity of clinical symptoms.
HubMed – addiction

Positron-Emission Tomography Imaging of the TSPO with [(18)F]FEPPA in a Preclinical Breast Cancer Model.

Filed under: Addiction Rehab

Cancer Biother Radiopharm. 2013 Jan 25;
Vasdev N, Green DE, Vines DC, McLarty K, McCormick PN, Moran MD, Houle S, Wilson AA, Reilly RM

Abstract The present study aims to image the 18-kDa translocator protein (TSPO; formerly known as the peripheral benzodiazepine receptor) in a preclinical human breast cancer (BC) xenograft mouse model with positron-emission tomography (PET). An automated radiosynthesis of [(18)F]-N-(2-(2-fluoroethoxy)benzyl)-N-(4-phenoxypyridin-3-yl)acetamide ([(18)F]FEPPA) was validated for human use using a commercial synthesis module and resulted in a high radiochemical yield (30%±8%, uncorrected; n=54) and specific activity (6±4 Ci/?mol). Tumor uptake of [(18)F]FEPPA in mice bearing subcutaneous MDA-MB-231 BC xenografts was evaluated by PET-computed tomography imaging and ex vivo biodistribution studies. Although the tumor was successfully visualized, ex vivo biodistribution studies revealed low tumor uptake (0.7%ID/g), with the majority of radioactivity distributed in the spleen, muscle, and heart despite high TSPO expression in this cell line. Our laboratory routinely prepares [(18)F]FEPPA for human-imaging studies in the central nervous system, and we envision that radiopharmaceuticals that target the TSPO have the potential for imaging macrophages in the tumor microenvironment.
HubMed – addiction

San Francisco Alcohol Rehab Detox | 877 648 1344 | San Francisco Alcoholism Intervention Counseling – San Francisco Alcohol Rehab Detox | 877 648 1344 | San Francisco Alcoholism Intervention Counseling alcoholdrugrehabusa.blogspot.com Alcohol detoxification Alcohol detoxification (alcohol detox) is a process by which a heavy drinker’s system is brought back to normal after being used to having alcohol in the body on a continual basis. Serious alcohol addiction results in a decrease in production of GABA, a reuptake inhibitor, because alcohol acts to replace it. Precipitous withdrawal from long-term alcohol addiction without medical management can cause severe health problems and can be fatal. Drug detoxification Drug detoxification (Drug Detox) is used to reduce or relieve withdrawal symptoms while helping the addicted individual adjust to living without drug use; drug detoxification is not meant to treat addiction but rather an early step in long-term treatment. Detoxification may be achieved drug free or may use medications as an aspect of treatment. Often drug detoxification and treatment will occur in a community program that lasts several months and takes place in a residential rather than medical center. Detox, Treatment and Rehab Centers Medical detox should be sought if you abuse opiates, excessively abuse alcohol, or are currently taking opiate replacements (methadone, suboxone), or abuse benzodiazepines (xanax, nirvam). Detoxification varies depending on the location of treatment, but most detox centers provide treatment to avoid the symptoms of physical …

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