Department of Psychology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115, USA.
Behav Brain Res. 2012 Apr 1;229(1):118-22. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2012.01.013. Epub 2012 Jan 12.
Previous research has shown that children living in clandestine methamphetamine (MA) labs are passively exposed to the drug [1]. The long-term effects of this early exposure on the dopaminergic systems are unknown, but may be important for adult behaviors mediated by dopamine, such as drug addiction. The current study sought to determine if juvenile exposure to low doses of MA would lead to altered responsiveness to the stimulant in adulthood. Young male and female rats (PD20-34) were injected daily with 0 or 2 mg/kg MA or left undisturbed and then tested at PD90. In the open field, adult rats exposed to MA during preadolescence had reduced locomotor activity compared to control non-exposed rats following an acute injection of MA (2 mg/kg). Likewise, methamphetamine-induced dopamine increases in the dorsal striatum were attenuated in male and female rats that had been exposed to MA as juveniles, although there were no changes in basal in vivo or ex vivo dopamine levels. These findings suggest that exposure of juveniles to MA leads to persistent changes in the behavioral and neurochemical responses to stimulants in adulthood.
先前的研究表明，生活在秘密冰毒（MA）实验室中的儿童会被动接触到这种药物[1]。这种早期接触对多巴胺能系统的长期影响尚不清楚，但可能对多巴胺介导的成年行为很重要，例如药物成瘾。本研究旨在确定青少年接触低剂量 MA 是否会导致成年后对兴奋剂的反应改变。年轻的雄性和雌性大鼠（PD20-34）每天接受 0 或 2 mg/kg MA 注射或不接受干扰，然后在 PD90 进行测试。在开放场中，与未接触 MA 的对照大鼠相比，在青春期前暴露于 MA 的成年大鼠在接受 MA（2 mg/kg）急性注射后运动活动减少。同样，在青少年时期接触 MA 的雄性和雌性大鼠的背侧纹状体中的 MA 诱导的多巴胺增加减少，尽管体内或离体多巴胺水平没有变化。这些发现表明，青少年接触 MA 会导致成年后对兴奋剂的行为和神经化学反应持续变化。
