Exercise as a Natural Kappa Opioid Receptor to Treat Binge Drinking Withdrawal
Abstract
Binge drinking is a serious public health problem in the United States especially among college students. Clinical trials demonstrate positive results for the treatment of alcohol abuse with aerobic exercise. Research in animal models aims to answer questions regarding implementation across sexes and age groups by studying underlying neurobiological mechanisms such as kappa opioid receptor (KOR) activation. KOR antagonists have been shown to reduce anxiety and depressive symptoms associated with ethanol withdrawal. Chronic treadmill exercise reduces KOR binding and G-protein activation in rodents, suggesting exercise could have an effect on symptoms of ethanol withdrawal similar to KOR antagonists. Previous research found that exercise treatment concurrent with ethanol exposure attenuated an ethanol-associated increase in KOR expression; however, exercise during withdrawal from binge drinking remains unexplored despite its importance for translational relevance to clinical use. In this study, 9-week-old C57BL6/J mice completed 2 rounds of “Drinking in the Dark” to simulate binge drinking followed by 4 weeks of treadmill exercise. Exercise tended to attenuate anxiety-like behavior in ethanol-exposed mice, demonstrated by an increased % center time in the open field and increased time spent in the open areas of the elevated zero maze. Exercise tended to increase activity in the open field, which was primarily driven by mice who were exposed to ethanol. These results suggest exercise is an effective treatment for the symptoms of withdrawal from binge drinking. Receptor autoradiography will be conducted to determine if there are alterations in KOR expression in brain regions involved in reward and anxiety.
Faculty Sponsors
Dr. Robert Speth, Dr. Lisa Robinson
Project Type
Event
Location
Alvin Sherman Library
Start Date
4-3-2024 12:30 PM
End Date
4-4-2024 1:30 PM
Exercise as a Natural Kappa Opioid Receptor to Treat Binge Drinking Withdrawal
Alvin Sherman Library
Binge drinking is a serious public health problem in the United States especially among college students. Clinical trials demonstrate positive results for the treatment of alcohol abuse with aerobic exercise. Research in animal models aims to answer questions regarding implementation across sexes and age groups by studying underlying neurobiological mechanisms such as kappa opioid receptor (KOR) activation. KOR antagonists have been shown to reduce anxiety and depressive symptoms associated with ethanol withdrawal. Chronic treadmill exercise reduces KOR binding and G-protein activation in rodents, suggesting exercise could have an effect on symptoms of ethanol withdrawal similar to KOR antagonists. Previous research found that exercise treatment concurrent with ethanol exposure attenuated an ethanol-associated increase in KOR expression; however, exercise during withdrawal from binge drinking remains unexplored despite its importance for translational relevance to clinical use. In this study, 9-week-old C57BL6/J mice completed 2 rounds of “Drinking in the Dark” to simulate binge drinking followed by 4 weeks of treadmill exercise. Exercise tended to attenuate anxiety-like behavior in ethanol-exposed mice, demonstrated by an increased % center time in the open field and increased time spent in the open areas of the elevated zero maze. Exercise tended to increase activity in the open field, which was primarily driven by mice who were exposed to ethanol. These results suggest exercise is an effective treatment for the symptoms of withdrawal from binge drinking. Receptor autoradiography will be conducted to determine if there are alterations in KOR expression in brain regions involved in reward and anxiety.
