Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35426491›Full record

ArticlePsychopharmacology2022

Reinforcing effects of fentanyl and sufentanil aerosol puffs in rats.

Keith L Shelton, Katherine L Nicholson

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Psychopharmacology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
1.0field-weighted citation impact, top 27% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 11 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Beyond respiratory depression: acute and delayed pulmonary responses following aerosolized fentanyl exposure.Toxicological sciences : an official journal of the Society of Toxicology · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Keith L SheltonDepartment of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, 410 North 12th Street, Room 746D, Richmond, VA, 23298-0613, USA. klshelto@vcu.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7970-0672
Katherine L NicholsonDepartment of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, 410 North 12th Street, Room 746D, Richmond, VA, 23298-0613, USA.
Virginia Commonwealth University · US

Funding

Self-administration of fentanyl and methamphetamine vapor using a novel e-cigarette puff delivery systemR21DA048242 · NIDA · VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY · PI SHELTON, KEITH L · 2019 to 2020
$427k
NIDA NIH HHS R21 DA048242NIDA NIH HHS R21DA08150
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

rationaleRapidly evolving e-cigarette technology developed for self-administering nicotine aerosol has the potential to be utilized to self-administer other aerosolized drugs of abuse. Rodent models which mirror characteristics of human e-cigarette use are necessary to explore the degree to which this may be a public health concern.

objectivesOur goal was to develop a highly translational model of discrete nose-only aerosol puff drug delivery to explore the reinforcing effects of fentanyl and sufentanil aerosols in rats.

methodsMale and female Sprague-Dawley rats were trained to perform a multiple schedule FR1 lever-press, 4-s (second) nose hold operant during which the subject's orofacial areas were exposed to drug-free glycerol/propylene glycol aerosol produced by a commercial e-cigarette at a power setting of 18 watts. Each completed 4-s drug-free vehicle aerosol exposure resulted in a 3-s presentation of a 0.1-ml dipper of sweetened milk solution. After training, rats were then allowed to self-administer 4-s nose-only puffs of fentanyl (100-6000 µg/ml) or sufentanil (30-500 µg/ml) aerosol in the absence of paired milk dipper reinforcers.

resultsAll 31 rats learned the lever-press/nose-poke multiple schedule for milk dippers alone and 25 accepted exposure to 4 s of 18 watts of drug-free vehicle aerosol when paired with milk dipper presentations. In the absence of paired milk dipper presentations, fentanyl aerosol puffs at concentrations of 1000 and 3000 µg/ml as well as 100 µg/ml puffs of sufentanil served as reinforcers compared to both air puffs and drug-free vehicle aerosol puffs. There were no significant differences between males and females in number of fentanyl or sufentanil puffs self-administered.

conclusionsDiscrete nose-only puffs of two potent opioids under exposure conditions comparable to puff durations in human e-cigarette users serve as reinforcers in rats. This outcome suggests that under appropriate conditions e-cigarettes might be a potential alternative delivery mechanism for illicit opioids.

Indexed as

Electronic Nicotine Delivery SystemsAerosolsAnalgesics, OpioidAnimalsFemaleFentanylHumansMaleRatsRats, Sprague-DawleySufentanilAerosolsAnalgesics, OpioidFentanylSufentanilE-cigaretteFentanylReinforcementSelf-administrationSufentanilVapor

Identifiers

PMID35426491
PMCPMC10878424
OpenAlexW4223998232

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

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.