Opioid Receptors Modulate Firing and Synaptic Transmission in the Paraventricular Nucleus of the Thalamus

Guoqiang Hou; Shaolei Jiang; Gaowei Chen; Xiaofei Deng; Fengling Li; Hua Xu; Bo Chen; Yingjie Zhu

doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1766-22.2023

Opioid Receptors Modulate Firing and Synaptic Transmission in the Paraventricular Nucleus of the Thalamus

J Neurosci. 2023 Apr 12;43(15):2682-2695. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1766-22.2023. Epub 2023 Mar 10.

Authors

Guoqiang Hou^{1

2

3}, Shaolei Jiang^{1

4}, Gaowei Chen^{1

2

3

5}, Xiaofei Deng^{1

2

3}, Fengling Li^{1

2

3}, Hua Xu^{1

2

3}, Bo Chen^{1

2

3

5}, Yingjie Zhu^{6

2

3

5

7

8}

Affiliations

¹ Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Drug Addiction, Shenzhen Neher Neural Plasticity Laboratory, Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China.
² Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen 518055, China.
³ Faculty of Life and Health Sciences, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China.
⁴ University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093, China.
⁵ University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
⁶ Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Drug Addiction, Shenzhen Neher Neural Plasticity Laboratory, Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China yj.zhu1@siat.ac.cn.
⁷ Chinese Academy of Sciences Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China.
⁸ Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Manipulation, Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China.

Abstract

The paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT) is involved in drug addiction-related behaviors, and morphine is a widely used opioid for the relief of severe pain. Morphine acts via opioid receptors, but the function of opioid receptors in the PVT has not been fully elucidated. Here, we used in vitro electrophysiology to study neuronal activity and synaptic transmission in the PVT of male and female mice. Activation of opioid receptors suppresses the firing and inhibitory synaptic transmission of PVT neurons in brain slices. On the other hand, the involvement of opioid modulation is reduced after chronic morphine exposure, probably because of desensitization and internalization of opioid receptors in the PVT. Overall, the opioid system is essential for the modulation of PVT activities.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Opioid receptors modulate the activities and synaptic transmission in the PVT by suppressing the firing rate and inhibitory synaptic inputs. These modulations were largely diminished after chronic morphine exposure.

Keywords: firing; morphine; opioid receptor; paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus; synaptic transmission; zona incerta.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Analgesics, Opioid* / pharmacology
Animals
Female
Male
Mice
Morphine / pharmacology
Paraventricular Hypothalamic Nucleus / physiology
Receptors, Opioid*
Synaptic Transmission
Thalamus

Substances

Analgesics, Opioid
Receptors, Opioid
Morphine