HOW DEEP AMPHETAMINE IMPACTS OUR BRAIN AND WHY TO FOCUS ON ANGIOTENSIN II

Horizons in Neuroscience Research

NOVA

Año: 2020; p. 146 - 176

Amphetamine is known for its stimulant effect over central nervous systemexerted mainly through noradrenergic and dopaminergic neurotransmission.However, this psychostimulant induces long-term changes in multiple neuronalcircuits, modifying their future responses to pharmacological or nonpharmacological challenges. Accumulated evidences regarding neuronalaltered connectivity in brain areas processing reward, cognition and decisionmaking, support its use in experimental conditions to learn about mentaldisorders. For this reason, amphetamine exposure is validated as apharmacological tool to resemble several psychiatric diseases, such as thedopaminergic/glutamatergic imbalance in schizophrenia and mania. Moreover,its effects extend beyond neurotransmission, as psychostimulant exposure hasbeen associated to brain vascular damage and neuroinflammation. Remarkablybrain angiotensin II, through its AT1 receptors, modulates dopaminergic andglutamatergic neurotransmission -between others-, and also it is involved inneurovascular and inflammatory responses. Our research explored theneuroadaptative responses, neuroinflammation and vascular rearrangement,evoked by the psychostimulant and depending on AT1 receptors that mightresemble some features linked to different brain disorders. In this chapter wewill present data showing the reciprocity between brain angiotensin II systemand amphetamine exposure in the development and expression of behavioral,neurochemical and neurovascular alterations.