EFFECT OF PERINATAL PROTEIN MALNUTRITION ON RELAPSE TO DRUG ADDICTION: A BEHAVIORAL APPROACH.

PERONDI M.C.; GUTIERREZ M.C.; VALDOMERO A.; CUADRA G.R.

Berlin

Congreso; Xi FENS Forum of Neuroscience; 2018

Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS)

Aims: Malnutrition and drug addiction are two problems of major concern. Previous results show that early protein deprivation facilitates reinstatement of extinguished conditioned place preference with low doses of cocaine that have no effect on wellnourished animals. Relapse to drug use during abstinence is one of the main difficulties faced by users and therapists throughout treatment and is associated with several withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety and depression-like behavior. This study was designed to evaluate whether perinatal protein undernutrition facilitates these behaviors in cocaine-abstinent adult rats.Methods: Different groups of control (C) and malnourished (D) rats received a daily saline (1 ml/kg, i.p.) or cocaine injection (5 or 10 mg/kg, i.p.) for 7 days. After 4 (WD4) or 7 (WD7) days of withdrawal, we evaluated anxiety (by elevated plus maze (EPM)) and depression-like behavior (by sucrose preference test (SPT) and forced swim test (FST)).Results: Immobility was significantly elevated in the FST and permanence in open arms (OA) of the EPM was significantly decreased on WD4 only in D-rats treated with 5 mg/kg of cocaine. C- and D-rats treated with 10 mg/kg of cocaine showed increased immobility time in the FST on WD4 and spent less time in OA of the EPM on WD7. D-rats elicited anxiety-like behavior on WD4. No differences were found in SPT.Conclusions: D-rats elicited anxiety and depression-related symptoms earlier and when being treated with lower doses of cocaine than C-rats. These data suggest that early malnutrition might contribute to relapsing into drug use during abstinence.