PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Isabel M. Bravo
AU  - Brennon R. Luster
AU  - Meghan E. Flanigan
AU  - Patric J. Perez
AU  - Elizabeth S. Cogan
AU  - Karl T. Schmidt
AU  - Zoe A. McElligott
TI  - Divergent behavioral responses in protracted opioid withdrawal in male and female C57BL/6J mice
AID  - 10.1101/689521
DP  - 2019 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 689521
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2019/07/02/689521.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2019/07/02/689521.full
AB  - Persons suffering from opioid use disorder (OUD) experience long-lasting dysphoric symptoms well into extended periods of withdrawal. This protracted withdrawal syndrome is notably characterized by heightened anxiety. Here we investigate if an exacerbated withdrawal model of acute morphine dependence results in lasting behavioral adaptation 6 weeks into forced abstinence. We found that our exacerbated morphine withdrawal paradigm produced distinct impairments in elevated-plus maze, open field, and social interaction tests in male and female mice. These findings will be relevant for future investigation examining the neural mechanisms underlying these behaviors, and will aid in uncovering physiological sex differences in response to opioid withdrawal.