The endogenous opioid system in the medial prefrontal cortex mediates ketamine's antidepressant-like actions.

ABSTRACT: Recent studies have implicated the endogenous opioid system in the antidepressant actions of ketamine, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. We used a combination of pharmacological, behavioral, and molecular approaches in rats to test the contribution of the prefrontal endogenous opioid system to the antidepressant-like effects of a single dose of ketamine. Both the behavioral actions of ketamine and their molecular correlates in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) are blocked by acute systemic administration of naltrexone, a competitive opioid receptor antagonist. Naltrexone delivered directly into the mPFC similarly disrupts the behavioral effects of ketamine. Ketamine treatment rapidly increases levels of β-endorphin and the expression of the μ-opioid receptor gene (Oprm1) in t

SUBMITTER: Jiang C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10861497 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature