Adolescent oxycodone exposure inhibits withdrawal-induced expression of genes associated with the dopamine transmission.

ABSTRACT: Prescription opioid misuse is a major public health concern among children and adolescents in the United States. Opioids are the most commonly abused drugs and are the fastest growing drug problem among adolescents. In humans and animals, adolescence is a particularly sensitive period associated with an increased response to drugs of abuse. Our previous studies indicate that oxycodone exposure during adolescence increases morphine reward in adulthood. How early drug exposure mediates long-term changes in the brain and behavior is not known, but epigenetic regulation is a likely mechanism. To address this question, we exposed mice to oxycodone or saline during adolescence and examined epigenetic modifications at genes associated with dopamine activity during adulthood at early and late with

SUBMITTER: Carpenter MD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8203751 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature