Ketamine, a racemic mixture consisting of (S)-and (R)-ketamine, has been in clinical use
since 1970. Although best characterized for its dissociative anesthetic properties, ketamine …

Opioids are powerful drugs that usurp and overpower the reward function of endogenous
opioids and engage dramatic tolerance and withdrawal via molecular and neurocircuitry …

The ventral tegmental area (VTA) is well known for regulating reward consumption, learning,
memory, and addiction behaviors through mediating dopamine (DA) release in downstream …

G protein-biased agonists of the μ-opioid receptor (MOPr) have been proposed as an
improved class of opioid analgesics. Recent studies have been unable to reproduce the …

Experiences of social rejection, exclusion or loss are generally considered to be some of the
most'painful'experiences that we endure. Indeed, many of us go to great lengths to avoid …

Background Despite initial reports of a decline in use in the early 2000s, methamphetamine
remains a significant public health concern with known neurotoxic and neurocognitive …

Pain thresholds are, in part, set as a function of emotional and internal states by descending
modulation of nociceptive transmission in the spinal cord. Neurons of the rostral …

Compulsive drug seeking that is associated with addiction is hypothesized to follow a
heuristic framework that involves three stages (binge/intoxication, withdrawal/negative affect …

This paper reviews studies examining the pharmacological interactions and epidemiology of
the combined use of opioids and benzodiazepines (BZDs). A search of English language …

The opioid system consists of three receptors, mu, delta, and kappa, which are activated by
endogenous opioid peptides processed from three protein precursors, proopiomelanocortin …