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Association between initial morphine intake and body weight change, acoustic startle reflex and drug seeking in rats

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Abstract

Rationale

Although chronic use of opiates can induce physical dependence and addiction, individual differences contributing to these symptoms are largely unknown.

Objectives

Using intravenous morphine self-administration (MSA), we investigated whether individual differences in drug intake are associated with weight change, acoustic startle reflex (ASR), pre-pulse inhibition (PPI), and drug seeking during spontaneous withdrawal.

Methods

Male Sprague-Dawley rats self-administered morphine (0.5 mg/kg/infusion) or saline for 3 weeks (4–6 h/day, 5 days/week) and drug intake and body weight were monitored daily. The ASR and the PPI (baseline, 1 day and 1 week) and drug seeking (1 week) were measured during spontaneous withdrawal.

Results

Morphine animals did not gain weight (101 % ± 0.69), while the control animals did (115 % ± 1.06) after 3 weeks of self-administration. The ASR and the PPI were not significantly different between morphine and saline animals in 1-day or 1-week withdrawal. However, individual differences in initial (first 10 min), but not total (4–6 h), morphine intake of the daily sessions were positively correlated with weight change (r = 0.437, p = 0.037) and drug seeking (r = 0.424, p = 0.035) while inversely correlated with the ASR (r = −0.544, p = 0.005) in 1-week withdrawal from chronic morphine.

Conclusions

A subgroup of animals that self-administered a larger amount of morphine at the beginning of the daily sessions exhibited subsequent weight gain, reduced ASR, and enhanced drug seeking in morphine withdrawal. Thus, individual differences in initial morphine intake may reveal a novel behavioral phenotype in opioid addiction.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress. We would like to thank Drs. David Self and Frances Gabbay for the critical review of the manuscript. All experiments comply with current laws in the USA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Program in Neuroscience, Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD, 20814, USA

    Thien Le, Mercedes Xia, Min Jia, Nathan Sarkar, Jerry Chen, He Li, Gary H. Wynn, Robert J. Ursano & Kwang H. Choi

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  1. Thien Le
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  2. Mercedes Xia
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  3. Min Jia
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  9. Kwang H. Choi
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Correspondence to Kwang H. Choi.

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Le, T., Xia, M., Jia, M. et al. Association between initial morphine intake and body weight change, acoustic startle reflex and drug seeking in rats. Psychopharmacology 231, 4569–4577 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-014-3606-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-014-3606-2

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