# Elucidating the role of direct and indirect pathway medium spiny neurons in opioid addiction

> **NIH NIH F31** · SEATTLE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL · 2020 · $39,120

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Opioid addiction is a chronic, relapsing disorder, characterized by bouts of compulsive drug intake, protracted
withdrawal states, and a high vulnerability to relapse. Opioid addiction in the United States is a national public
health emergency, and is responsible for the deaths of more than half a million individuals since 2000.
Contributing to the dire state of this crisis is the lack of pharmacotherapeutics for the long-term treatment of
opioid addiction, as currently available treatments focus on either reversing overdoses or delaying the onset of
withdrawal symptoms. Similar to other addictive behaviors, opioid addiction is believed to arise in part due to
aberrations within the cortico-basal ganglia circuit, a network involved in associative learning, decision-making,
and motivation. Central to this circuit is the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a heterogeneous structure comprised of
two interspersed populations of GABAergic medium spiny neurons (MSNs): direct pathway MSNs (dMSNs)
and indirect pathway MSNs (iMSNs). dMSNs express the excitatory dopamine D1 receptor and project directly
to the ventral tegmental area (VTA), whereas iMSNs express the inhibitory dopamine D2 receptor and project
indirectly to the VTA via the ventral pallidum (VP). Both dMSNs and iMSNs receive extensive glutamatergic
input from cortical and subcortical nuclei as well as dopaminergic modulation from the midbrain, but dMSNs
and iMSNs have opposing control over behavioral output: stimulation of dMSNs facilitates behavior and serves
as a “go” signal, whereas stimulation of iMSNs suppresses behavior and serves as a “stop” signal. Disruptions
in the balance of signaling between dMSNs and iMSNs (excessive “go” signal or inadequate “stop” signal) is
thought to underlie the development of compulsive behaviors, such as those associated with drug addiction.
Previous research using cell type-specific modulation of dMSNs and iMSNs has supported this hypothesis,
though this research has relied primarily on the use of psychostimulants, so the applicability of such findings to
opioid addiction is uncertain. Moreover, the bulk of research into the neurobiology of drug addiction fails to take
into account the individual variability associated with the development and progression of addiction, due to
either methodological or statistical design. As only a small percentage of individuals who use opioids become
addicted, it is essential to investigate the neurobiological mechanisms underlying addiction vulnerability and
resilience if effective treatments are to be developed. Thus, the research proposed herein will employ novel
viral-mediated gene transfer approaches for the real-time monitoring (via in vivo calcium imaging) and transient
manipulation (via chemogenetics) of dMSNs and iMSNs during a model of opioid addiction to test the
hypothesis that compulsive drug use disrupts the balance of striatal signaling to drive pathological opioid
craving and consumption in a subset o...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9829037
- **Project number:** 5F31DA047012-02
- **Recipient organization:** SEATTLE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Timothy Joseph O'Neal
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $39,120
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-01-01 → 2021-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9829037

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9829037, Elucidating the role of direct and indirect pathway medium spiny neurons in opioid addiction (5F31DA047012-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9829037. Licensed CC0.

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