title: Substance use modulates stress reactivity: Behavioral and physiological outcomes.
abstract: Drug addiction is a major public health concern in the United States costing taxpayers billions in health care costs, lost productivity and law enforcement. However, the availability of effective treatment options remains limited. The development of novel therapeutics will not be possible without a better understanding of the addicted brain. Studies in both clinical and preclinical models indicate that chronic drug use leads to alterations in the body and brain's response to stress. Dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis may shed light on the ability of stress to increase vulnerability to relapse. Further, within both the HPA axis and limbic brain regions, corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) is critically involved in the brain's response to stress. Alterations in both central and peripheral CRF activity seen following chronic drug use provide a mechanism by which substance use can alter stress reactivity, thus mediating addictive phenotypes. While many reviews have focused on how stress alters drug-mediated changes in physiology and behavior, the goal of this review is to focus on how substance use alters responses to stress.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Temple University, United States.
authors.forename: Anne Q
authors.initials: AQ
authors.lastname: Fosnocht
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Temple University, United States. Electronic address: lbriand@temple.edu.
authors.forename: Lisa A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Briand
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007030:Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010913:Pituitary-Adrenal System / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000209:etiology*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*
chemical_list: D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone
keywords: Addiction; CRF; HPA axis; Stress; Substance use