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Ilona Vathy
Associate Professor
Developmental neurobiology; effects of prenatal opiate exposure
on brain and behavior development; gonadal steroids, monoamine,
opioids, and GABA neurotransmission.
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Our behavioral, neuro- and biochemical work demonstrate that
prenatal morphine exposure has sex-specific, long-term effects
on many neurotransmitters of the CNS including norepinephrine
(NE), opioids, excitatory amino acids and GABA. For example,
prenatal morphine exposure differentially alters NE content
and NE turnover in the hypothalamus, tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactivity
in the locus coeruleus (LC) and in the paraventricular nucleus
of the hypothalamus (PVN) of male and female rats. These long-term,
sex-specific changes in NE transmission occur in brain regions
known to participate in stress responses. NE neurons of the
LC mediate neural responses to stress and corticotrophin-releasing
hormone neurons in the PVN are the central neuroendocrine
regulators of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA)
axis. Stress can modulate many behaviors including drug abuse
and addiction by affecting both the HPA axis and the central
NE systems. Both morphine and endogenous opioids modulate
the HPA axis and NE neurotransmission. Therefore, studies
are being conducted to test the hypothesis that prenatal morphine
exposure alters the development of brain systems regulating
adaptive responses to stress and promotes drug abuse liability
in young adult male and female rats.
Vathy, I. (2002). Prenatal opiate exposure:
long-term CNS consequences in the stress system of
the offspring. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 27:273-283.
Slamberová, R., Schindler, C.J. and Vathy,
I. (2002). Impact of maternal morphine and saline
injections on behavioral responses to cold water stressor
in adult male and female progeny. Physiol. Behav.,
75(5): 723-732.
Vathy. I., Slamberová, R., Rimanóczy,
A., Riley, M. and Bar, N. (2002). Autoradiographic
evidence that prenatal morphine exposure sex-dependently
alters (-opioid receptor densities in brain regions
that are involved in the control of motivated behaviors
and reinforcing or rewarding effects of drugs of abuse.
Prog. Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biol. Psychiatry,
7:381-393.
Slamberová, R., Rimanóczy, A., Bar,
N., Schindler, C.J. and Vathy, I. (2003). Density
of (-opioid receptors in the hippocampus of adult
male and female rats is altered by prenatal morphine
exposure and gonadal hormone manipulation. Hippocampus,
13(4):461-471.
Velìsek, L., Slamberová, R., Vathy,
I. (2003). Mineralocorticoid receptors affect
synaptic plasticity in the lateral perforant path
in prenatally morphine- and saline-exposed male rats.
Brain Res. Bull., 61(6):571-576.
Rimanóczy, A., Slamberová, R. Riley,
M.A.E and Vathy, I. (2003). ACTH stress response
but not glucocorticoid negative feedback is altered
by prenatal morphine exposure in adult male rats.
Neuroendocrinology, 78(6):312-320.
Schindler, C.J., Slamberová, R. and Vathy,
I. (2003). Bicuculline seizure susceptibility
and nigral GABAA(1 receptor mRNA is altered in adult
prenatally morphine-exposed females. Psychoneuroendocrinology,
(28):348-363.
Slamberová, R., Hnatczuk, O.C. and Vathy,
I. (2004): Expression of proopiomelanocortin and
proenkephalin mRNA in sexually dimorphic brain regions
are altered in adult male and female rats treated
prenatally with morphine. J. Peptide Res.,
63:1-10.
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