From Traumatic Childhood to Cocaine Abuse: The Critical Function of the Immune System

Biological Psychiatry
Luisa Lo IaconoValeria Carola

Abstract

Experiencing traumatic childhood is a risk factor for developing substance use disorder, but the mechanisms that underlie this relationship have not been determined. Adverse childhood experiences affect the immune system, and the immune system mediates the effects of psychostimulants. However, whether this system is involved in the etiology of substance use disorder in individuals who have experienced early life stress is unknown. In this study, we performed a series of ex vivo and in vivo experiments in mice and humans to define the function of the immune system in the early life stress-induced susceptibility to the neurobehavioral effects of cocaine. We provide evidence that exposure to social stress at an early age permanently sensitizes the peripheral (splenocytes) and brain (microglia) immune responses to cocaine in mice. In the brain, microglial activation in the ventral tegmental area of social-stress mice was associated with functional alterations in dopaminergic neurotransmission, as measured by whole-cell voltage clamp recordings in dopamine neurons. Notably, preventing immune activation during the social-stress exposure reverted the effects of dopamine in the ventral tegmental area and the cocaine-induced behavioral ...Continue Reading

Citations

Jan 8, 2020·FASEB Journal : Official Publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology·Emanuela TalamontiMaria Teresa Viscomi
Feb 13, 2020·Journal of Clinical Medicine·Clarissa CataleValeria Carola
Aug 6, 2020·Frontiers in Synaptic Neuroscience·Hongyu Zhang, Clive R Bramham
Mar 3, 2020·Neuropharmacology·Matteo Di SegniRossella Ventura
Jan 27, 2021·Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews·Francesco Fornai, Stefano Puglisi-Allegra
May 1, 2021·Journal of Personalized Medicine·Lynn M OswaldCarla L Storr
Aug 8, 2021·Scientific Reports·Maria Carolina Machado da SilvaAntônio Carlos Pinheiro de Oliveira

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