2020
Preliminary in vivo evidence of lower hippocampal synaptic density in cannabis use disorder
D’Souza D, Radhakrishnan R, Naganawa M, Ganesh S, Nabulsi N, Najafzadeh S, Ropchan J, Ranganathan M, Cortes-Briones J, Huang Y, Carson RE, Skosnik P. Preliminary in vivo evidence of lower hippocampal synaptic density in cannabis use disorder. Molecular Psychiatry 2020, 26: 3192-3200. PMID: 32973170, DOI: 10.1038/s41380-020-00891-4.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsHippocampal synaptic densityCannabis use disorderHealthy controlsSynaptic densityPositron emission tomographyUse disordersDSM-5 cannabis use disorderVivo evidenceAdministration of cannabinoidsHippocampal synaptic integrityVerbal memory taskSynaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2AHuman cannabis usersEffects of cannabisWarrants further studyPlasma input functionMemory taskCentrum semiovaleAdult rodentsOne-tissue compartment modelSynaptic integrityHippocampal functionCannabis misuseArterial samplingEmission tomography
2019
The Kappa Opioid Receptor Is Associated With Naltrexone-Induced Reduction of Drinking and Craving
de Laat B, Goldberg A, Shi J, Tetrault JM, Nabulsi N, Zheng MQ, Najafzadeh S, Gao H, Kapinos M, Ropchan J, O'Malley SS, Huang Y, Morris ED, Krishnan-Sarin S. The Kappa Opioid Receptor Is Associated With Naltrexone-Induced Reduction of Drinking and Craving. Biological Psychiatry 2019, 86: 864-871. PMID: 31399255, DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2019.05.021.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsKappa-opioid receptorsAlcohol use disorderOpioid receptorsUse disordersNonselective opioid receptor antagonistModest clinical effectsEfficacy of naltrexoneOpioid receptor antagonistDSM-IV criteriaPositron emission tomographyAlcohol Urge QuestionnaireNaltrexone initiationNaltrexone therapyClinical effectsReceptor antagonistTherapeutic effectCingulate cortexDrinking paradigmHeavy drinkersBilateral insulaNaltrexoneAlcohol dependenceBrain regionsEmission tomographyPrefrontal cortex