Chronic methamphetamine induces structural changes in frontal cortex neurons and upregulates type I interferons
Open accessAbstract
While methamphetamine-induced changes in brain neurotransmitters, their receptors, and transporters are well studied, the means by which methamphetamine abuse results in cognitive and behavioral abnormalities is unknown. Here, we administered methamphetamine chronically, in doses relevant to recreational usage patterns, to nonhuman primates. Neurostructural analysis revealed decreased dendritic material and loss of spines in frontal lobe neurons. Molecular examination demonstrated that type I interferons (interferon-alpha and interferon-beta) increased in the frontal lobe in response to chronic methamphetamine treatment, in correlation with the neuronal changes. Chronic methamphetamine thus results in significant changes in the primate brain, inducing cytokines and altering neuronal structure, both of which can contribute to functional abnormalities.
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In rhesus monkeys, chronic methamphetamine increases interferon α/β in the frontal lobe.
“In rhesus monkeys, chronic Meth increased interferon α/β in frontal lobe (Coutinho et al., 2008)”
From Stress- and Glucocorticoid-Induced Priming of Neuroinflammatory Responses: Potential Mechanisms of Stress-Induced Vulnerability to Drugs of Abuse (2011) · cites this paper as Coutinho et al., 2008
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Cites
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“In rhesus monkeys, chronic Meth increased interferon a/b in frontal lobe (Coutinho et al., 2008) and striatal expression of TNF and NF-jB (Lai et al.”
Background
- Authors
- Coutinho, A., Flynn, C., Burdo, T. H., Mervis, R. F., & Fox, H. S.
- Affiliations
- Scripps Research Institute (US)
- Boston College (US)
- University of South Florida (US)
- Corresponding author
- Fox, Howard S.
- Venue
- Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology
- Published
- 2008-07-02
- Volume
- 3
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 241-245
- ISSN
- 1557-1890 (ISSN-L)
- 1557-1904
- PMC
- PMC2581635
- OpenAlex
- W2045893534
- Cited by
- 16
- References
- 16
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 1 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 1 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 0.43
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Mental Health (P30MH062261, MH062261, MH073490, R01MH073490)
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01DA024467, DA024467)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Biological Psychiatry › Tryptophan and brain disorders
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms
- Keywords
- frontal cortex, dendritic spine loss, type I interferon, interferon-alpha, interferon-beta, neuroinflammation, non-human primates, drug abuse
- MeSH terms
- Central Nervous System Stimulants, Animals, Frontal Lobe, Interferon Type I, Macaca mulatta, Methamphetamine, Neurons, Up-Regulation, Gene Expression, Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
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