Huperzine A inhibits immediate addictive behavior but not behavioral sensitization following repeated morphine administration in rats

  • Authors:
    • Jinling Sun
    • Lin Tian
    • Ruisi Cui
    • Xinwang Li
  • View Affiliations

  • Published online on: February 2, 2017     https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2017.4097
  • Pages: 1584-1591
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Abstract

Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors are regarded as promising therapeutic agents to treat addiction. The current study aimed to examine the effects of huperzine A, a cholinesterase inhibitor, on behavioral sensitization induced by repeated morphine administration and relapse induced by contextual conditioning. The present study also assessed whether the state‑dependency hypothesis may explain the results. Adult rats were divided into four groups (n=8) and intraperitoneally injected with 0.2, 0.3 or 0.4 mg/kg huperzine A or saline (1 ml/kg, control), for 5 days. The effect of repeated huperzine A administration alone on locomotor activity was assessed. For the experiments that analyzed the development of morphine‑induced sensitization, 40 rats were divided into five groups (n=8): Saline+Saline, Saline+Morphine, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4 mg/kg huperzine A+Morphine. Following a withdrawal period of 7 days, all animals were administered saline or morphine, as appropriate. To test the state‑dependency hypothesis, the rats in the Saline+Morphine group were injected with saline and morphine, while the other three groups were administered different doses of huperzine A and morphine. To examine the effect of huperzine A on the expression of morphine‑induced sensitization, the rats in huperzine A+Morphine groups were injected with appropriate concentrations of huperzine A, and morphine. The current results indicated that the administration of huperzine A alone did not affect locomotor activity, while higher doses of huperzine A inhibited the addictive behavior induced by morphine at the development phase. Additionally, huperzine A administration during the expression phase of morphine sensitization did not inhibit the relapse induced by administration of saline. Furthermore, 0.4 mg/kg huperzine A inhibited the expression of morphine‑induced behavioral sensitization. Therefore, the results of the current study do not support the state-dependency hypothesis.
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April-2017
Volume 13 Issue 4

Print ISSN: 1792-0981
Online ISSN:1792-1015

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Spandidos Publications style
Sun J, Tian L, Cui R and Li X: Huperzine A inhibits immediate addictive behavior but not behavioral sensitization following repeated morphine administration in rats. Exp Ther Med 13: 1584-1591, 2017.
APA
Sun, J., Tian, L., Cui, R., & Li, X. (2017). Huperzine A inhibits immediate addictive behavior but not behavioral sensitization following repeated morphine administration in rats. Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine, 13, 1584-1591. https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2017.4097
MLA
Sun, J., Tian, L., Cui, R., Li, X."Huperzine A inhibits immediate addictive behavior but not behavioral sensitization following repeated morphine administration in rats". Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine 13.4 (2017): 1584-1591.
Chicago
Sun, J., Tian, L., Cui, R., Li, X."Huperzine A inhibits immediate addictive behavior but not behavioral sensitization following repeated morphine administration in rats". Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine 13, no. 4 (2017): 1584-1591. https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2017.4097