Endogenous opioid release in the human brain reward system induced by acute amphetamine administration

Alessandro Colasanti; Graham E Searle; Christopher J Long; Samuel P Hill; Richard R Reiley; Darren Quelch; David Erritzoe; Andri C Tziortzi; Laurence J Reed; Anne R Lingford-Hughes; Adam D Waldman; Koen R J Schruers; Paul M Matthews; Roger N Gunn; David J Nutt; Eugenii A Rabiner

doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2012.01.027

Endogenous opioid release in the human brain reward system induced by acute amphetamine administration

Alessandro Colasanti, Graham E Searle, Christopher J Long, Samuel P Hill, Richard R Reiley, Darren Quelch, David Erritzoe, Andri C Tziortzi, Laurence J Reed, Anne R Lingford-Hughes, Adam D Waldman, Koen R J Schruers, Paul M Matthews, Roger N Gunn, David J Nutt, Eugenii A Rabiner

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

BACKGROUND: We aimed to demonstrate a pharmacologically stimulated endogenous opioid release in the living human brain by evaluating the effects of amphetamine administration on [(11)C]carfentanil binding with positron emission tomography (PET).

METHODS: Twelve healthy male volunteers underwent [(11)C]carfentanil PET before and 3 hours after a single oral dose of d-amphetamine (either a "high" dose, .5 mg/kg, or a sub-pharmacological "ultra-low" dose, 1.25 mg total dose or approximately .017 mg/kg). Reductions in [(11)C]carfentanil binding from baseline to post-amphetamine scans (ΔBP(ND)) after the "high" and "ultra-low" amphetamine doses were assessed in 10 regions of interest.

RESULTS: [(11)C]carfentanil binding was reduced after the "high" but not the "ultra-low" amphetamine dose in the frontal cortex, putamen, caudate, thalamus, anterior cingulate, and insula.

CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that oral amphetamine administration induces endogenous opioid release in different areas of human brain, including basal ganglia, frontal cortex areas, and thalamus. The combination of an amphetamine challenge and [(11)C]carfentanil PET is a practical and robust method to probe the opioid system in the living human brain.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	371-7
Number of pages	7
Journal	Biological Psychiatry
Volume	72
Issue number	5
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2012.01.027
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 3 Mar 2012

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

Adult
Amphetamine
Brain
Brain Mapping
Carbon Radioisotopes
Fentanyl
Humans
Male
Opioid Peptides
Positron-Emission Tomography
Reward
Statistics, Nonparametric
Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

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10.1016/j.biopsych.2012.01.027

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Colasanti, A., Searle, G. E., Long, C. J., Hill, S. P., Reiley, R. R., Quelch, D., Erritzoe, D., Tziortzi, A. C., Reed, L. J., Lingford-Hughes, A. R., Waldman, A. D., Schruers, K. R. J., Matthews, P. M., Gunn, R. N., Nutt, D. J., & Rabiner, E. A. (2012). Endogenous opioid release in the human brain reward system induced by acute amphetamine administration. Biological Psychiatry, 72(5), 371-7. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2012.01.027

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title = "Endogenous opioid release in the human brain reward system induced by acute amphetamine administration",

abstract = "BACKGROUND: We aimed to demonstrate a pharmacologically stimulated endogenous opioid release in the living human brain by evaluating the effects of amphetamine administration on [(11)C]carfentanil binding with positron emission tomography (PET).METHODS: Twelve healthy male volunteers underwent [(11)C]carfentanil PET before and 3 hours after a single oral dose of d-amphetamine (either a {"}high{"} dose, .5 mg/kg, or a sub-pharmacological {"}ultra-low{"} dose, 1.25 mg total dose or approximately .017 mg/kg). Reductions in [(11)C]carfentanil binding from baseline to post-amphetamine scans (ΔBP(ND)) after the {"}high{"} and {"}ultra-low{"} amphetamine doses were assessed in 10 regions of interest.RESULTS: [(11)C]carfentanil binding was reduced after the {"}high{"} but not the {"}ultra-low{"} amphetamine dose in the frontal cortex, putamen, caudate, thalamus, anterior cingulate, and insula.CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that oral amphetamine administration induces endogenous opioid release in different areas of human brain, including basal ganglia, frontal cortex areas, and thalamus. The combination of an amphetamine challenge and [(11)C]carfentanil PET is a practical and robust method to probe the opioid system in the living human brain.",

keywords = "Adult, Amphetamine, Brain, Brain Mapping, Carbon Radioisotopes, Fentanyl, Humans, Male, Opioid Peptides, Positron-Emission Tomography, Reward, Statistics, Nonparametric, Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't",

author = "Alessandro Colasanti and Searle, {Graham E} and Long, {Christopher J} and Hill, {Samuel P} and Reiley, {Richard R} and Darren Quelch and David Erritzoe and Tziortzi, {Andri C} and Reed, {Laurence J} and Lingford-Hughes, {Anne R} and Waldman, {Adam D} and Schruers, {Koen R J} and Matthews, {Paul M} and Gunn, {Roger N} and Nutt, {David J} and Rabiner, {Eugenii A}",

year = "2012",

month = mar,

day = "3",

doi = "10.1016/j.biopsych.2012.01.027",

language = "English",

volume = "72",

pages = "371--7",

journal = "Biological Psychiatry",

issn = "0006-3223",

publisher = "Elsevier",

number = "5",

}

Colasanti, A, Searle, GE, Long, CJ, Hill, SP, Reiley, RR, Quelch, D, Erritzoe, D, Tziortzi, AC, Reed, LJ, Lingford-Hughes, AR, Waldman, AD, Schruers, KRJ, Matthews, PM, Gunn, RN, Nutt, DJ & Rabiner, EA 2012, 'Endogenous opioid release in the human brain reward system induced by acute amphetamine administration', Biological Psychiatry, vol. 72, no. 5, pp. 371-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2012.01.027

TY - JOUR

T1 - Endogenous opioid release in the human brain reward system induced by acute amphetamine administration

AU - Colasanti, Alessandro

AU - Searle, Graham E

AU - Long, Christopher J

AU - Hill, Samuel P

AU - Reiley, Richard R

AU - Quelch, Darren

AU - Erritzoe, David

AU - Tziortzi, Andri C

AU - Reed, Laurence J

AU - Lingford-Hughes, Anne R

AU - Waldman, Adam D

AU - Schruers, Koen R J

AU - Matthews, Paul M

AU - Gunn, Roger N

AU - Nutt, David J

AU - Rabiner, Eugenii A

PY - 2012/3/3

Y1 - 2012/3/3

N2 - BACKGROUND: We aimed to demonstrate a pharmacologically stimulated endogenous opioid release in the living human brain by evaluating the effects of amphetamine administration on [(11)C]carfentanil binding with positron emission tomography (PET).METHODS: Twelve healthy male volunteers underwent [(11)C]carfentanil PET before and 3 hours after a single oral dose of d-amphetamine (either a "high" dose, .5 mg/kg, or a sub-pharmacological "ultra-low" dose, 1.25 mg total dose or approximately .017 mg/kg). Reductions in [(11)C]carfentanil binding from baseline to post-amphetamine scans (ΔBP(ND)) after the "high" and "ultra-low" amphetamine doses were assessed in 10 regions of interest.RESULTS: [(11)C]carfentanil binding was reduced after the "high" but not the "ultra-low" amphetamine dose in the frontal cortex, putamen, caudate, thalamus, anterior cingulate, and insula.CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that oral amphetamine administration induces endogenous opioid release in different areas of human brain, including basal ganglia, frontal cortex areas, and thalamus. The combination of an amphetamine challenge and [(11)C]carfentanil PET is a practical and robust method to probe the opioid system in the living human brain.

AB - BACKGROUND: We aimed to demonstrate a pharmacologically stimulated endogenous opioid release in the living human brain by evaluating the effects of amphetamine administration on [(11)C]carfentanil binding with positron emission tomography (PET).METHODS: Twelve healthy male volunteers underwent [(11)C]carfentanil PET before and 3 hours after a single oral dose of d-amphetamine (either a "high" dose, .5 mg/kg, or a sub-pharmacological "ultra-low" dose, 1.25 mg total dose or approximately .017 mg/kg). Reductions in [(11)C]carfentanil binding from baseline to post-amphetamine scans (ΔBP(ND)) after the "high" and "ultra-low" amphetamine doses were assessed in 10 regions of interest.RESULTS: [(11)C]carfentanil binding was reduced after the "high" but not the "ultra-low" amphetamine dose in the frontal cortex, putamen, caudate, thalamus, anterior cingulate, and insula.CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that oral amphetamine administration induces endogenous opioid release in different areas of human brain, including basal ganglia, frontal cortex areas, and thalamus. The combination of an amphetamine challenge and [(11)C]carfentanil PET is a practical and robust method to probe the opioid system in the living human brain.

KW - Adult

KW - Amphetamine

KW - Brain

KW - Brain Mapping

KW - Carbon Radioisotopes

KW - Fentanyl

KW - Humans

KW - Male

KW - Opioid Peptides

KW - Positron-Emission Tomography

KW - Reward

KW - Statistics, Nonparametric

KW - Journal Article

KW - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

U2 - 10.1016/j.biopsych.2012.01.027

DO - 10.1016/j.biopsych.2012.01.027

M3 - Article

C2 - 22386378

SN - 0006-3223

VL - 72

SP - 371

EP - 377

JO - Biological Psychiatry

JF - Biological Psychiatry

IS - 5

ER -

Endogenous opioid release in the human brain reward system induced by acute amphetamine administration

Abstract

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

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