Novelty seeking (NS), defined as a tendency to pursue novel and intense emotional
sensations and experiences, is one of the most relevant individual factors predicting drug …

Social stress in adulthood enhances cocaine self‐administration, an effect that has been
related with an increase in extracellular signal‐regulated kinase and p38α mitogen …

Adverse social experiences during adolescence are associated with the appearance of
mental illness in adulthood. Social defeat (SD) is an ethologically valid murine model to …

The neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT) plays a critical role in the regulation of social and
emotional behaviors. OXT plays a role in stress response and in drug reward, but to date no …

The experience of social stress during adolescence is associated with higher vulnerability to
drug use. Increases in the acquisition of cocaine self-administration, in the escalation of …

Rationale Repeated social defeat (RSD) increases the rewarding effects of cocaine in
adolescent and adult rodents. Objective The aim of the present study was to compare the …

During adolescence, many neural systems, including the dopamine system, undergo
essential remodeling and maturation. It is well known that early-life stress (ELS) increases …

Stressful experiences modify activity in areas of the brain involved in the rewarding effects of
psychostimulants. In the present study we evaluated the influence of acute social defeat …

The kynurenine (KYN) pathway of tryptophan (TRP) degradation is activated by stress and
inflammatory factors. It is now well established that social stress induces the activation of the …

Using the social defeat (SD) model, numerous studies have shown that stressed mice
display an enhanced response to the motivational effects of cocaine in the self …