title: Integration of neural networks activated by amphetamine in females with different estrogen levels: a functional imaging study in awake rats.
abstract: Previous studies demonstrate that schizophrenia symptomatology in women is dependent upon estrogen levels. Estrogen has beneficial properties when administered in conjunction with antipsychotics, and estrogen also alters, in rats, dopamine neurotransmission, which is a common target of all antipsychotic medications, suggesting a possible interaction between the two. The aim of the current study was to investigate this possible interaction using functional magnetic resonance imaging in awake, female rats. Amphetamine-sensitized, ovariectomized rats receiving no, chronic low, or phasic high levels of estradiol replacement were used, and changes in blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signal were recorded over time in response to an acute amphetamine injection. Increasing levels of estradiol enhanced BOLD activation in pathways previously known to be implicated in schizophrenia symptomatology, such as the mesocorticolimbic, habenular and olfactory pathways, as well as more widespread areas. We propose here the first comprehensive "amphetamine activation map" integrating brain regions where amphetamine-related BOLD activity is influenced by estrogen levels in sensitized female rats.
authors.affiliation: Concordia University, Department of Psychology, Center for Studies in Behavioural Neurobiology, 7141 Sherbrooke St. West, Montréal, QC, Canada H4B 1R6. Electronic address: dan.madularu@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Madularu
authors.affiliation: Northeastern University, Department of Psychology, Center for Translational Neuroimaging, 360 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Jason R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Yee
authors.affiliation: Northeastern University, Department of Psychology, Center for Translational Neuroimaging, 360 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: William M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Kenkel
authors.affiliation: Northeastern University, Department of Psychology, Center for Translational Neuroimaging, 360 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Kelsey A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.affiliation: Northeastern University, Department of Psychology, Center for Translational Neuroimaging, 360 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Praveen
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kulkarni
authors.affiliation: Concordia University, Department of Psychology, Center for Studies in Behavioural Neurobiology, 7141 Sherbrooke St. West, Montréal, QC, Canada H4B 1R6.
authors.forename: Waqqas M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Shams
authors.affiliation: Northeastern University, Department of Psychology, Center for Translational Neuroimaging, 360 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Craig F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Ferris
authors.affiliation: Concordia University, Department of Psychology, Center for Studies in Behavioural Neurobiology, 7141 Sherbrooke St. West, Montréal, QC, Canada H4B 1R6.
authors.forename: Wayne G
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Brake
mesh_terms: D000661:Amphetamine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D001931:Brain Mapping; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004958:Estradiol / Q000494:pharmacology; D015914:Estrogen Replacement Therapy; D004967:Estrogens / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000187:drug effects*; D010052:Ovariectomy; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants; D004967:Estrogens; D004958:Estradiol; D000661:Amphetamine; D010100:Oxygen
keywords: Amphetamine sensitization; BOLD; Estradiol; Ovariectomy; Schizophrenia; fMRI