Aspects of drug withdrawal may become conditioned to previously neutral environmental stimuli via classical conditioning processes. Nevertheless, the significance of conditioned withdrawal effects in motivating drug intake remains largely unexplored. Here, we investigated the effects of conditioned withdrawal in modulating heroin consumption and brain reward sensitivity in rats. Rats intravenou...

BACKGROUND/AIM Treating animals repeatedly with intermittent and increasing morphine doses has been suggested to allow some withdrawal during each dosing interval, which causes repeated stress. The present study aimed to test this hypothesis and assess sex-related differences in withdrawal signs and their suppression by clonidine. MATERIALS AND METHODS Male and female rats and mice were admin...

It has been proposed that the autonomic nervous system is dysregulated in schizophrenia. We hypothesized that measures of autonomic function, even during neuroleptic stabilization, might predict relapse following withdrawal of medication. Previously, shorter latencies to maximum pupillary constriction have been reported to differentiate acutely hospitalized schizophrenic patients from control s...

BACKGROUND Individuals with opioid dependence have cognitive deficits during abuse period in attention, working memory, episodic memory, and executive function. After protracted abstinence consistent cognitive deficit has been found only in executive function. However, few studies have explored cognitive function during first weeks of abstinence. The purpose of this study was to study cognitive...

Despite the well-known health risks associated with smokeless tobacco use, much is unresolved with respect to effective treatment for use of this substance. The present study examined the impact of a nicotine-free smokeless tobacco substitute and confectionary chewing gum on craving, withdrawal, and anxiety among 24 smokeless tobacco users following 24 hours of nicotine abstinence and a laborat...

N Engl J Med 2003;348:1786-95. Copyright © 2003 Massachusetts Medical Society. ach year in the united states, approximately 8.2 million persons are dependent on alcohol and 3.5 million are dependent on illicit drugs, including stimulants (1 million) and heroin (750,000). 1 In a sample from primary care practice, 15 percent of patients had either an “at-risk” pattern of alcohol use or an alcohol...

The aim of this study was to examine the role played by substance P and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) within the dorsal horn of the spinal cord in engagement of antinociception evoked by dexmedetomidine (DEX). Paw withdrawal threshold (PWT) to mechanical stimulation was determined after chronic intrathecal infusion of DEX and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was employed to ex...

N Engl J Med 2003;348:1786-95. Copyright © 2003 Massachusetts Medical Society. ach year in the united states, approximately 8.2 million persons are dependent on alcohol and 3.5 million are dependent on illicit drugs, including stimulants (1 million) and heroin (750,000). 1 In a sample from primary care practice, 15 percent of patients had either an “at-risk” pattern of alcohol use or an alcohol...

The present study focused on the evaluation of a role of opioid system in nicotine-induced antinociception and physical dependence in mice. The results indicate that nicotine (3 mg/kg) produced a significant antinociception in the hot plate test. Additionally, the opioid receptor antagonist naloxone (0.5 and 1 mg/kg), dose-dependently attenuated this effect. Our second experimental protocol con...

BACKGROUND Negative-reinforcement based cognitive processes have been implicated in the maintenance of cigarette smoking. Given the expectation that smoking will attenuate aversive internal experiences, smokers may be particularly unwilling to experience or remain in contact with smoking-related distress (i.e., experiential avoidance). Yet, there is little known about a cognitive-based process ...