The Gut Microbiome Regulates the Psychomotor Effects and Context-Dependent Rewarding Responses to Cocaine in Germ-Free and Antibiotic-Treated Animal Models.

ABSTRACT: Cocaine use disorder remains a major global health concern, with growing evidence that the gut microbiome modulates drug-related behaviors. This study examines the microbiome's role in cocaine-induced psychomotor activation and context-dependent reward responses using germ-free (GF) and antibiotic-treated (ABX) models. In GF mice, the absence of a microbiome blunted cocaine-induced psychomotor activation (p = 0.013), which was restored after conventionalization. GF mice also showed reduced cocaine-conditioned place preference (CPP) (p = 0.002), which normalized after conventionalization. Dopaminergic function, critical for psychomotor responses and reward, was microbiome-dependent, with increased dopamine levels (p = 0.009) and normalized turnover ratios after conventi

SUBMITTER: Winters AD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11767876 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature