ReviewPharmacology, biochemistry, and behavior2021
Progress in opioid reward research: From a canonical two-neuron hypothesis to two neural circuits.
Review in Pharmacology, biochemistry, and behavior, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed.
- Chronic morphine differentially impacts glutamatergic synaptic plasticity in the ventral tegmental area of adult versus adolescent mice.Neuropharmacology · 2026Article
- Epigenetic mechanisms of HIV and opioid-induced neuropathology: Potential therapies and interventions.Molecular therapy : the journal of the American Society of Gene Therapy · 2025Review
- Recruitment of specific dopamine neuron sub-circuits by opioids.Addiction neuroscience · 2025Article
- Reduced GIRK expression in midbrain dopamine neurons during prolonged abstinence from fentanyl self-administration.Psychopharmacology · 2025Article
- Presynaptic and Postsynaptic Mesolimbic Dopamine DBiological psychiatry · 2024Article
- AM6527, a neutral CB1 receptor antagonist, suppresses opioid taking and seeking, as well as cocaine seeking in rodents without aversive effects.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2024Article
- Molecular Sex Differences and Clinical Gender Efficacy in Opioid Use Disorders: From Pain Management to Addiction.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- GPR55 is expressed in glutamate neurons and functionally modulates drug taking and seeking in rats and mice.Translational psychiatry · 2024Article
- Blockade of the Dopamine DNeuroscience bulletin · 2023Article
- Cell-type specific molecular architecture for mu opioid receptor function in pain and addiction circuits.Neuropharmacology · 2023Review
- Targeting Opioid Receptors in Addiction and Drug Withdrawal: Where Are We Going?International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Neural circuits controlling choice behavior in opioid addiction.Neuropharmacology · 2023Review
- A highly DNeuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2022Article
- Review
- Differential expression ofDrug and alcohol dependence reports · 2022Article
- Opioid Receptor-Mediated Regulation of Neurotransmission in the Brain.Frontiers in molecular neuroscience · 2022Review
- Adding dopamine to the complexity of sex differences in opioid reinforcement.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2021Article
- Article
- Striatonigrostriatal Spirals in Addiction.Frontiers in neural circuits · 2021Review
- Substance-Specific and Shared Gray Matter Signatures in Alcohol, Opioid, and Polysubstance Use Disorder.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Opioid abuse and related overdose deaths continue to rise in the United States, contributing to the national opioid crisis in the USA. The neural mechanisms underlying opioid abuse and addiction are still not fully understood. This review discusses recent progress in basic research dissecting receptor mechanisms and circuitries underlying opioid reward and addiction. We first review the canonical GABA-dopamine neuron hypothesis that was upheld for half a century, followed by major findings challenging this hypothesis. We then focus on recent progress in research evaluating the role of the mesolimbic and nigrostriatal dopamine circuitries in opioid reward and relapse. Based on recent findings that activation of dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) is equally rewarding and that GABA neurons in the rostromedial tegmental nucleus (RMTg) and the substantia nigra pars reticula (SNr) are rich in mu opioid receptors and directly synapse onto midbrain DA neurons, we proposed that the RTMg→VTA → ventrostriatal and SNr → SNc → dorsostriatal pathways may act as the two major neural substrates underlying opioid reward and abuse. Lastly, we discuss possible integrations of these two pathways during initial opioid use, development of opioid abuse and maintenance of compulsive opioid seeking.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.