Addictive behavior, stress and synaptic plasticity

Behaivioral and synaptic plasticity is largely modulated by exposure to abusive drugs. In our recent work, corticosterone facilitated the morphine reinforcing effects and intensified drug-craving behavior after long-term abstinence, which was evidenced by LTP, LTD. Extraneous corticosterone administration facilitated the conditioned psychostimulant by morphine and reduced its CPP. Also, social stress enhanced morphine psychomotor effect in an individually-differentiated manner. Two classes of unigenes or ETSs were involved in the expression of differentiated susceptibility to the CPP effect, reversed by the dopamine antagonist. Behavioral paradigms with rats and chicks were established in our lab, showing some advantages for meaningful comparison among species.