Yobet A. Perez-Perez; Roberto J. Morales-Silva; John K. Alvarado-Torres; Genesis N. Rodriguez-Torres; Lenin J. Godoy-Muñoz; Serena Fazal; Nilenid Rivera Aviles; Marian T. Sepulveda-Orengo, PhD

Department of Basic Sciences, Ponce Health Sciences University-School of Medicine/Ponce Research Institute, Ponce, Puerto Rico 00732, USA

Abstract

Introduction: Co-morbidity between cocaine use disorder (CUD) and trauma-related disorders has been shown frequently, demonstrating a strong relationship between trauma exposure and cocaine use. However, it is unknown how a traumatic event exposure prior to cocaine exposure can increase the risk of CUD development.

Objective: Our research aims to assess how traumatic event exposure is a risk factor for developing a stronger CUD and its impact on cocaine-seeking behavior.

Hypothesis: Adult male and female Sprague Dawley rats exposed to a traumatic event (stressed group) in the form of fear conditioning (FC) will exhibit higher drug-seeking behavior compared to non-stressed rats.

Methods: Rats were subjected to a single session of FC. Five days after FC, rats were subjected to 12 days of short-access cocaine self-administration (2 h/day), followed by 15 days of extinction training (2 h/day). Twenty-four hours after the last extinction session, rats were exposed to cue-primed and cocaine-primed reinstatements.

Results: Stressed male rats had higher active level presses in cue-primed and cocaine-primed reinstatements compared to non-stressed male rats. In contrast, there was no difference in active lever presses between stressed and non-stressed female rats in cue- and cocaine-primed reinstatements.

Conclusion: Our findings indicate that a traumatic event prior to cocaine exposure may influence the transition from the recreational use of cocaine to the development of CUD in a sex-dependent manner. As a future direction, we will investigate the effects of FC and cocaine exposure on synaptic changes in the PL-NAc core synapses in connection to cocaine-seeking behavior.

IACUC: 2202000755C001

Acknowledgments:

Dr. Sepulveda’s Laboratory

  • Marian Sepulveda
  • Roberto Morales
  • Ursula Gelpi
  • Lenin Godoy
  • Serena Fazal
  • Nilenid Rivera

Dr. Porter’s Laboratory

  • James Porter
  • Maria Colon
  • Anixa Hernandez
  • Nashaly Irizarry

Funding Sources

  • G-RISE Program (#T32GM144896)
  • NIH-NIGMS #2R25GM082406
  • RCMI-Supplement Project NMHHD 3U54MD007579-37S1
  • INBRE- P20 GM103475-19
  • Catalyzer-CRG-2020-00114

Animal House Facility

  • Lissette Molinari