Depletion of the Microbiome Changes How the Brain Responds to Opioids
Figure 1: Microbiome depletion alters how the brain responds to opioids. Microbiome intact animals in the intoxication state (left) exhibited increases in neuronal recruitment (green arrows) in the basolateral amygdala (BLA), while the central amygdala (CeA), periaqueductal gray (PAG), and locus coeruleus (LC) do not exhibit increases (blue dash) compared to control animals. During withdrawal, microbiome intact animals exhibit increased recruitment of the CeA and lateral habenula (LHB) compared to control animals. Microbiome depleted animals (right) exhibit a reduction of recruitment in the BLA, and increases in the CeA, PAG, and LC in the intoxication state compared to intact animals. Additionally, microbiome depleted animals in the withdrawal state exhibit a decrease in the CeA and an increase in recruitment in the Lateral Habenula (LHB) compared to intact animals.
Material below summarizes Depletion of the Microbiome Alters the Recruitment of Neuronal Ensembles of Oxycodone Intoxication and Withdrawal, published on April 27th, 2020, in eNeuro and authored by Sierra Simpson, Adam Kimbrough, Brent Boomhower, Rio Mclellan, Marcella Hughes, Kokila Shankar, Giordano de Guglielmo, Olivier George.
Substance use disorders are complex. Genetics, environment, and exposure to drugs all play a role in drug use. Recently, there has been evidence that another factor may play a role in substance use disorders: the gut-brain axis. The gut-brain axis encompasses the bidirectional communication pathways between the gut microbiome and the brain.
My most recent publication provides new evidence that alterations of the gut microbiome directly impact the neuronal ensembles recruited during both intoxication and withdrawal from oxycodone.
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