Our last speaker Mitchell Roitman discussed the role of dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) during cocaine administration. His study analyzed the effects of dopamine release in the NAc shell and core after cocaine administration, to study how each region effects motivated behavior. The NAc core, which is responsible for generating conditioned responses based on associative learning, was the focus of his study showing that the suppression of cocaine induced dopamine signaling by GLP-1R agonist may decrease the reinforcing properties of cocaine. His research paves the way for a treatment to drug addiction.
In this review, researches evaluated the effects of the endocannabinoid system (ECS) in dopamine signaling within the reward circuits affected by chronic pain, which focuses on the effects of induced dopamine in the NAc shell rather than its core. Both studies evaluate the mesolimbic pathway which plays an important role in the regulation of emotional and cognitive behavior and the effects of dopamine. Dopamine is a catecholamine neurotransmitter that plays a variety of functions in the brain, including reward, aversion, motivation, motor coordination, learning, and hormone secretion. Evidence from past research has indicated that the opioid system, as well as the endocannabinoid system are highly relevant in both pain perception and reward processing. Targeting the ECS has great potential for creating a treatment for chronic pain patients.
Dopamine transmission in the nucleus accumbens (NAS) is increased with natural rewards, such as food or sex, and after administration of addictive drugs. The activation of the dopamine system and amount of dopamine released in response to addictive substances is greater than the effects of a natural reward. Psychostimulant drugs act similar to natural rewards by increasing dopamine release, mainly in the shell, having a short-lived effect that disappears at the end of stimulation, whereas an aversive stimulus induces the elevation of dopamine release in the NAS core and prefrontal cortex. Data has indicated that the mesolimbic reward circuitry is involved in chronic pain. Increased activity in the NAS has been associated with pain. With more research needing to be done, the ECS poses as a promising alternative for opioids in chronic pain treatment. Many studies have shown reports that cannabinoid treatment may improve symptoms of pain, anxiety, depression, and overall quality of life for patients experiencing chronic pain.
With our national opioid crisis still at large, alternative treatments need to be discovered that pose less of a threat to a patient's overall wellbeing when dealing with things such as chronic pain. We have countless military veterans returning home and getting addicted to opioids for pain management whereas with more solid research, the ECS can prove as an amazing alternative.
https://reader.elsevier.com/reader/sd/pii/S1043661819300088?token=D52927CF6937542D006E746BFDE2709608531ABE5B314B0B05A87C28B3FD26426980E9C7D114C1A08E61D32BFAE0E675
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