Presenters: Gavin Jones ; James Bates ; Pacen Williams ; Paul Flora Flora ; Austin Miner ; Seth Birrell ; D. Brenes
Authors: Gavin Jones, James Bates, Pacen Williams, Paul Flora, Austin Miner, Seth Birrell, D Brenes, Cooper Lytle
Faculty Advisor: Scott Steffensen
Institution: Brigham Young University
Mechanoreceptor-based therapeutic techniques such as physical therapy, chiropractic medicine, etc. are widely used for a variety of illnesses, but their potential for treating substance use disorders such as opioid dependence and withdrawal is widely unexplored (Jin et al., 2018; Yang et al., 2010; Yoon et al., 2012). Here, we asses the effects of a mechanoreceptor-based therapy in the form of whole-body mechanical stimulation (MStim) on neuropathological changes and behavioral symptoms induced by chronic morphine addiction. Specifically, we evaluate the ability of MStim to ameliorate drug-induced changes to ventral tegmental area (VTA) GABA neuron firing, dopamine (DA) release in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), and behavioral indices related to withdrawal. The present results indicate that MStim blocks morphine-induced desensitization of GABA neurons and shows distinct increases in basal DA release in NAc following morphine injection. This indicates a blunting of the noted neuropathological markers of dependence. MStim treatment also stifled behavioral symptoms of withdrawal induced by drug usage. Mechanical stimulation-based treatments represent a promising adjunct to current addiction intervention and should be examined translationally in humans.