Brain kappa-opioid receptors (KORs) have been implicated in the behavioral consequences of stress,such as drug seeking and depressive-like behavior. Previously,we have shown that systemic KOR antagonism produces anxiolytic-like effects in tests of both conditioned and unconditioned fear. The present studies were designed to further characterize interactions between KOR systems and stress-induced behavior using footshock as a stressor,the effects of which can be measured by potentiation of the acoustic startle reflex. This potentiation was investigated after systemic blockade or constitutive deletion of KORs. Recently,it has been shown that stress induces KOR phosphorylation in the nucleus accumbens,where KORs are expressed on the terminals of dopamine (DA) neurons originating in the ventral tegmental area (VTA). To characterize the involvement of this specific population of KORs we generated a conditional knockout in which KORs are selectively deleted in DA-containing neurons.
A systematic review and meta-analysis of the efficacy of ketamine and esketamine on suicidal ideation in treatment-resistant depression Ya-Ting Wang Xiao-Le Wang Yi Zhang European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology (2024)