The Opioid System as the Interface between the Brain’s Cognitive and Motivational Systems

The Opioid System as the Brain’s Interface Between Cognition and Motivation, Volume 239, focuses on the opioid system as the interface between the brain’s cognitive and motivational systems.

The opioid system is widely distributed through the brain, particularly in areas implicated in cognition (hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, claustrum, thalamus) and motivation (hypothalamus, amygdala, pontine nuclei, periaqueductal gray and medulla). Opioid drugs have selectivity for certain subtypes, acting as full or partial agonists or antagonists at these receptors.

Opioids are especially implicated in motivated behaviors (pain, reward, addiction), but their role in affective/mood disorders or cognition has received less attention, despite their therapeutic potential by virtue of their offering a rich family of receptor targets.

This book studies the underpinning idea that brain’s opioid system plays a key role in cognition and motivation and elucidates the supporting brain regions and their associated neurochemical and molecular mechanisms.

Contains contributions from both academia and industry, to maximize the possible cross-fertilization of differing perspectives on opioid system function in health and diseaseStudies the opioid system as the interface between the brain’s cognitive and motivational systems

1. Potential roles for opioid receptors in motivation and major depressive disorder Charlotte K. Callaghan, Jennifer Rouine and Shane M. O'Mara 2. Opioid modulation of depression: A focus on imaging studies Jennifer Rouine, Charlotte K. Callaghan and Shane M. O’Mara 3. Modulation of the central opioid system as an antidepressant target in rodent models Kelly L. McHugh and John P. Kelly 4. Stress-induced modulation of pain: Role of the endogenous opioid system Mehnaz Ferdousi and David P. Finn 5. Opioid modulation of cognitive impairment in depression Moriah L. Jacobson, Hildegard A. Wulf, Caroline A. Browne and Irwin Lucki 6. Frontal cortex dysfunction as a target for remediation in opiate use disorder: Role in cognitive dysfunction and disordered reward systems Dominic Roberts, Andrew Wolfarth, Connie Sanchez and Alan L. Pehrson