# Oxytocin regulation of intravenous oxycodone demand: a role for nucleus accumbens

> **NIH NIH F31** · UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA · 2024 · $25,431

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
 The national opioid crisis continues to progress in the United States. Few effective treatments for opioid
use disorder (OUD) exist and there is a need for new medications to treat OUD. Treatment for OUD is
complicated by the co-use of alcohol. Chronic opioid and alcohol use, separately, are known to disrupt dopamine
and glutamate homeostasis in the nucleus accumbens; a brain region that mediates the seeking of addictive
drugs. In considering treatments for opioid-alcohol polysubstance use, a therapeutic with the ability to act upon
these common mechanisms, through restoration of nucleus accumbens dopamine and glutamate, may be
advantageous. Oxytocin effectively reduces alcohol and opioid intake and relapse in pre-clinical models
employing the use of only one drug (monosubstance use) and is known to act on dopamine and glutamate
systems. Clinical trials show efficacy for intranasal oxytocin as a treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD). Based
on the clinical and pre-clinical evidence, we posit that oxytocin may be a viable therapeutic in the treatment of
opioid-alcohol polysubstance use. The experiments outlined in this proposal will investigate oxytocin’s
therapeutic potential in opioid-alcohol polysubstance use. Based on our previous findings that 1) alcohol alters
demand for oxycodone and 2) that oxytocin reduces demand for oxycodone in a monosubstance model, here
we will test the dose-dependent effects of oxytocin on oxycodone demand in male and female oxycodone-only
and oxycodone+alcoholpolysubstance rats using our established oxycodone+alcoholpolysubstance use model.
Based on our prior work showing that oxytocin increases nucleus accumbens dopamine and glutamate efflux in
the nucleus accumbens of cocaine-experienced rats, here we will investigate the effects of oxytocin
administration on dopamine and glutamate efflux in oxycodone and oxycodone+alcohol-experienced rats. The
proposed work will provide important data regarding oxytocin’s therapeutic potential to reduce oxycodone
monosubstance use and oxycodone+alcohol polysubstance use, illuminate potential sex differences in these
effects, and elucidate the role of nucleus accumbens dopamine and glutamate efflux in the effects of oxytocin.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10800669
- **Project number:** 5F31DA057806-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
- **Principal Investigator:** Courtney Wilkinson
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $25,431
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-05-16 → 2024-08-15

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10800669

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10800669, Oxytocin regulation of intravenous oxycodone demand: a role for nucleus accumbens (5F31DA057806-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10800669. Licensed CC0.

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