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The molecular neurobiology and neuropathology of opioid use disorder

The number of people diagnosed with opioid use disorder has skyrocketed as a consequence of the opioid epidemic and the increased prescribing of opioid drugs for chronic pain relief. Opioid use disorder is characterized by loss of control of drug taking, continued drug use in the presence of adverse...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Blackwood, Christopher A., Cadet, Jean Lud
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Elsevier 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9090195/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35548327
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.crneur.2021.100023
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author Blackwood, Christopher A.
Cadet, Jean Lud
author_facet Blackwood, Christopher A.
Cadet, Jean Lud
author_sort Blackwood, Christopher A.
collection PubMed
description The number of people diagnosed with opioid use disorder has skyrocketed as a consequence of the opioid epidemic and the increased prescribing of opioid drugs for chronic pain relief. Opioid use disorder is characterized by loss of control of drug taking, continued drug use in the presence of adverse consequences, and repeated relapses to drug taking even after long periods of abstinence. Patients who suffer from opioid use disorder often present with cognitive deficits that are potentially secondary to structural brain abnormalities that vary according to the chemical composition of the abused opioid. This review details the neurobiological effects of oxycodone, morphine, heroin, methadone, and fentanyl on brain neurocircuitries by presenting the acute and chronic effects of these drugs on the human brain. In addition, we review results of neuroimaging in opioid use disorder patients and/or histological studies from brains of patients who had expired after acute intoxication following long-term use of these drugs. Moreover, we include relevant discussions of the neurobiological mechanisms involved in promoting abnormalities in the brains of opioid-exposed patients. Finally, we discuss how novel strategies could be used to provide pharmacological treatment against opioid use disorder.
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spelling pubmed-90901952022-05-10 The molecular neurobiology and neuropathology of opioid use disorder Blackwood, Christopher A. Cadet, Jean Lud Curr Res Neurobiol Review Article The number of people diagnosed with opioid use disorder has skyrocketed as a consequence of the opioid epidemic and the increased prescribing of opioid drugs for chronic pain relief. Opioid use disorder is characterized by loss of control of drug taking, continued drug use in the presence of adverse consequences, and repeated relapses to drug taking even after long periods of abstinence. Patients who suffer from opioid use disorder often present with cognitive deficits that are potentially secondary to structural brain abnormalities that vary according to the chemical composition of the abused opioid. This review details the neurobiological effects of oxycodone, morphine, heroin, methadone, and fentanyl on brain neurocircuitries by presenting the acute and chronic effects of these drugs on the human brain. In addition, we review results of neuroimaging in opioid use disorder patients and/or histological studies from brains of patients who had expired after acute intoxication following long-term use of these drugs. Moreover, we include relevant discussions of the neurobiological mechanisms involved in promoting abnormalities in the brains of opioid-exposed patients. Finally, we discuss how novel strategies could be used to provide pharmacological treatment against opioid use disorder. Elsevier 2021-10-14 /pmc/articles/PMC9090195/ /pubmed/35548327 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.crneur.2021.100023 Text en © 2021 The Authors https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Review Article
Blackwood, Christopher A.
Cadet, Jean Lud
The molecular neurobiology and neuropathology of opioid use disorder
title The molecular neurobiology and neuropathology of opioid use disorder
title_full The molecular neurobiology and neuropathology of opioid use disorder
title_fullStr The molecular neurobiology and neuropathology of opioid use disorder
title_full_unstemmed The molecular neurobiology and neuropathology of opioid use disorder
title_short The molecular neurobiology and neuropathology of opioid use disorder
title_sort molecular neurobiology and neuropathology of opioid use disorder
topic Review Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9090195/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35548327
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.crneur.2021.100023
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