Alterations of the Host Microbiome Affect Behavioral Responses to Cocaine

Citations Over TimeTop 10% of 2016 papers

Abstract

Addiction to cocaine and other psychostimulants represents a major public health crisis. The development and persistence of addictive behaviors comes from a complex interaction of genes and environment - the precise mechanisms of which remain elusive. In recent years a surge of evidence has suggested that the gut microbiome can have tremendous impact on behavioral via the microbiota-gut-brain axis. In this study we characterized the influence of the gut microbiota on cocaine-mediated behaviors. Groups of mice were treated with a prolonged course of non-absorbable antibiotics via the drinking water, which resulted in a substantial reduction of gut bacteria. Animals with reduced gut bacteria showed an enhanced sensitivity to cocaine reward and enhanced sensitivity to the locomotor-sensitizing effects of repeated cocaine administration. These behavioral changes were correlated with adaptations in multiple transcripts encoding important synaptic proteins in the brain's reward circuitry. This study represents the first evidence that alterations in the gut microbiota affect behavioral response to drugs of abuse.

Related Papers

• → Role of gut microbiota via the gut-liver-brain axis in digestive diseases(2020)168 cited
• → The role of gut microbiota in the gut-brain axis: current challenges and perspectives(2013)147 cited
• → Gut hormones in microbiota-gut-brain cross-talk(2020)134 cited
• → The Role of the Gut Microbiota in the Gut–Brain Axis in Obesity: Mechanisms and Future Implications(2021)77 cited
• → The potential of human milk oligosaccharides to impact the microbiota-gut-brain axis through modulation of the gut microbiota(2020)54 cited