# Regulation of 5-HT circuits by CRF and GABA in opioid addiction and stress-induced relapse

> **NIH NIH R01** · TEMPLE UNIV OF THE COMMONWEALTH · 2022 · $158,484

## Abstract

Stress impacts multiple phases of opioid addiction and is associated with greater vulnerability to initiation of
drug taking, more rapid transition from drug use to abuse, and higher rates of drug relapse, though the neural
circuitry and mechanisms involved are largely unknown. A growing literature indicates the involvement of the
dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN)-serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) system in some of the affective
components of drug addiction that motivate drug taking and relapse. Acute opioids stimulate 5-HT
neurotransmission via GABAergic disinhibition, potentially contributing a positive affective component to the
motivation for drug seeking early in opioid addiction. By contrast, later in addiction, the 5-HT DRN system may
also contribute to drug-seeking motivated by negative affect via its responsiveness to stressors and its
interaction with the corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) system. Our laboratory and others have shown that
CRF-R1 receptors inhibit 5-HT DRN neurons via GABA interneurons. Preliminary data indicate a novel
neuroadaptation within DRN-CRF circuits that is associated with vulnerability to stress-induced opioid relapse.
Rats expressing extinction of either heroin intravenous self-administration (IVSA) or morphine conditioned
place-preference (CPP) that are exposed to stress reinstate their previously extinguished heroin-seeking
behavior or morphine CPP, an effect accompanied by sensitization of GABAA receptors on 5-HT DRN neurons.
This neuroadaptation would render 5-HT DRN neurons vulnerable to inhibition by CRF-R1-GABA inputs. From
these collective data, we hypothesize a dual role for the 5-HT system in opioid addiction: 1) early opioid
exposure stimulates 5-HT DRN neurons, creating a positive affective state that contributes to opioid reward; 2)
stress exposure in subjects with an opioid history sensitizes GABAA receptors on 5-HT DRN neurons, making
them vulnerable to inhibition by CRF-R1 located on GABA afferents. The resulting 5-HT hypofunction creates a
negative affective state that motivates opioid reinstatement. In specific aim 1, we will use electrophysiology to
measure the dynamic changes in membrane properties and excitability of 5-HT DRN neurons ex vivo as they
track with changes in affect and behavior over the course of a rat model of heroin IVSA, extinction and stress-
induced reinstatement. In specific aim 2 we will use viral delivery of Designer Receptor Exclusively Activated
by Designer Drugs in Tph2-Cre rats to examine the impact of manipulating 5-HT DRN neuronal activity in vivo
in the behavioral model. In specific aim 3 we will use viral delivery of DREADDs in Crh-Cre or GAD-Cre rats to
test the causal relationship between amygdala CRF afferents to the DRN and DRN GABA interneurons in the
behavioral model. This proposal employs multiple ex vivo and in vivo approaches to dissect the role of 5-HT-
GABA-CRF circuitry in a model of opioid addiction and relapse with the ultimate goal of identifying...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10556667
- **Project number:** 3R01DA045771-04S1
- **Recipient organization:** TEMPLE UNIV OF THE COMMONWEALTH
- **Principal Investigator:** LYNN G KIRBY
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $158,484
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2022-07-01 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10556667

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10556667, Regulation of 5-HT circuits by CRF and GABA in opioid addiction and stress-induced relapse (3R01DA045771-04S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10556667. Licensed CC0.

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