This study compares the impact of repeated injections of baclofen (an agonist of GABA B receptors) or diazepam (a benzodiazepine having an agonist action on GABA A receptors) given during the alcohol-withdrawal period on the stress-induced restoration of alcohol-seeking behavior and hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis dysfunction after a long (4 weeks) abstinence. Thus, C57BL/6 mice were submitted to a 6-month alcohol consumption [12% volume/volume (v/v)] and were progressively withdrawn to water before testing. Diazepam (Valium ® , Roche) and baclofen (Baclofen ® , Mylan) were administered intraperitoneally for 15 consecutive days (1 injection/day) during the withdrawal period at decreasing doses ranging from 1.0 mg/kg (Day 15) to 0.25 mg/kg (Day 1) for diazepam and from 1.5 mg/kg (Day 15) to 0.37 mg/kg (Day 1) for baclofen. Alcohol-seeking behavior was evaluated by alcohol-place preference in an odor recognition task. In the stress condition, mice received three electric footshocks 45 min before behavioral testing. Blood was sampled immediately after behavioral testing, and plasma corticosterone concentrations were measured by commercial enzyme immunoassay kits. Results showed that non-stressed withdrawn mice did not exhibit alcohol-place preference or alteration of plasma corticosterone concentrations relative to water controls. After stress, however, withdrawn mice exhibited a significant alcohol-place preference and higher circulating corticosterone concentrations as compared to stressed water controls. Interestingly, repeated administration during the withdrawal phase of baclofen but not diazepam suppressed both the alcohol-place preference and normalized corticosterone levels in stressed withdrawn animals. In conclusion, this study evidences that a pre-treatment with baclofen but not with diazepam during the withdrawal phase normalized, even after a long period of abstinence, the HPA axis response to stress, which contributes to the long-term preventing effects of this compound on alcohol-seeking behavior.

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

The prevalence of clinically defined problematic substance use among stroke patients is overlooked and its association with post-stroke depression (PSD) is unknown. Our aims were to: (1) estimate the proportion of stroke patients with a problematic substance use as defined by clinical screening scales; (2) determine the proportion of PSD at three months of follow-up; (3) explore if the baseline severity in substance use and its evolution are independent predictors of PSD. A cohort of first-ever non-severe stroke adult patients was screened at baseline and three months post-stroke using recommended cut-off scores of standardized scales for tobacco, alcohol and cannabis abuse. PSD was defined using the Center of Epidemiological Studies Depression scale score. Out of the 244 eligible patients, 74 (30.3%) presented a problematic substance use, including 21 (8.6%) polydrug abusers. Among these patients, the prevalence of PSD was 50.8%, including 29.5% of severe depression. The severity of tobacco dependence at baseline was found to double the risk (OR 1.59, 95% CI 1.05–2.43) of presenting a PSD, independently of previously reported risk factors. We found no significant evidence for an effect of the evolution in substance use at follow-up. Addictive disorders are part of the critical unmet needs that should be addressed in the management of PSD.

Chronic tobacco smoking remains a major health problem worldwide. Numerous smokers wish to quit but most fail, even if they are helped. The possibility of identifying neuro-biomarkers in smokers at high risk of relapse could be of incredible progress toward personalized prevention therapy. Our aim is to provide a scoping review of this research topic in the field of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and to review the studies that investigated if MRI defined markers predicted smoking cessation treatment outcome (abstainers versus relapsers). Based on the available literature, a meta-analysis could not be conducted. We thus provide an overview of the results obtained and take stock of methodological issues that will need to be addressed to pave the way toward precision medicine. Based on the most consistent findings, we discuss the pivotal role of the insula in light of the most recent neurocognitive models of addiction.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract