2022 Undergraduate Research Symposium

Winner ðŸ†: Majd Yahya (neuroscience)

Graduate co-author: Cameron Davidson

Faculty mentor: Shane Perrine

Abstract

Opioid addiction is a prominent issue that impacts many people across the world. Several studies detail opioid addiction patterns; however, few studies have investigated long-term cognitive effects of fentanyl following its abstinence. This study explores this shortcoming utilizing a chronic escalating dose of fentanyl model.

Male and female Wistar rats had three daily subcutaneous injections (3h intertrial-interval) of either saline (control), low- or high-dose fentanyl, over 12 days. Following saline or fentanyl exposure, rats were subjected to a nine-day abstinence period followed by a five-day Barnes maze assay. The Barnes maze is a circular platform containing 20 uniformly spaced holes along its edge, with only one hole containing a hidden box. Latency and distance traveled to enter the box were measured. All animals experienced two trials per day. Day one consisted of an acquisition phase where rats explored the maze and were guided to the hidden zone if they did not enter it themselves. Days two through five utilized aversive stimuli (120-watt light and 80 dB white noise) which were terminated once rats entered the goal box.

Results demonstrated that the high-dose fentanyl rats took significantly longer time to reach the hidden zone on day one in comparison to saline- or low-exposed rats, however, this varied by sex. This data suggests that initial exploratory behavior was subtly impacted by our exposure paradigm, but this effect was transitory. Analyses of collected brain tissue assessing neurochemical differences are to be conducted. Future investigations parsing the cognitive impact of synthetic, semi-synthetic, and organic opioids are planned.

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