Electroconvulsive seizures protect against methamphetamine-induced inhibition of neurogenesis in the rat hippocampus
NeuroToxicology. 2021-09-01; 86: 185-191
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuro.2021.08.008
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García-Cabrerizo R(1), Bis-Humbert C(1), García-Fuster MJ(2).
Author information:
(1)IUNICS, University of the Balearic Islands, Palma, Spain; Health Research
Institute of the Balearic Islands (IdISBa), Palma, Spain.
(2)IUNICS, University of the Balearic Islands, Palma, Spain; Health Research
Institute of the Balearic Islands (IdISBa), Palma, Spain. Electronic address:
.
Following methamphetamine consumption and during abstinence many behavioral
consequences emerge (i.e., cognitive deficits, ongoing episodes of psychosis,
depression, severe cravings, brain neurotoxicity), which are likely linked to
propensity to relapse. In this line of thought, we recently showed that binge
methamphetamine administration enhanced negative affect and voluntary drug
consumption in rats, while it induced persistent neurotoxic effects (i.e.,
impaired hippocampal neurogenesis), effects that emerged long after drug
removal. To date, no pharmacological strategies have been proven to be effective
for the treatment of methamphetamine toxicity. A few studies have evaluated the
impact of combining methamphetamine pretreatment with electroconvulsive seizures
(ECS) post-treatment, an alternative non-pharmacological option used in
psychiatry for resistant depression that offers a safe and really potent
therapeutic response. Against this background, the present study aimed at
testing whether repeated ECS treatment could ameliorate some of the long-term
neurotoxicity effects induced by adolescent methamphetamine exposure in rats and
emerging after drug removal. At the behavioral level, the main results showed
that methamphetamine administration did not alter negative affect immediate
during adolescence or later on in adulthood. Interestingly, repeated ECS
improved the negative impact of methamphetamine administration on reducing
hippocampal neurogenesis, demonstrating that ECS can attenuate certain degree of
methamphetamine-induced neurotoxicity in rats, and suggesting ECS as a good
therapeutical candidate that deserves further studies.
Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.