Opiate addiction is characterized by high rates of relapse even after long periods of abstinence, requiring new relapse-prevention treatments that do not have abuse potential. Recently, clinical studies suggested that the wake-promoting drug modafinil might decrease relapse in cocaine addicts. In addition, group II metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGlu2/3R) have been suggested as a new therapeutic target for drug addiction. Here, we investigated the ability of modafinil to prevent the acute morphine to promote reinstatement of extinguished preference for morphine, and the involvement of mGlu2/3Rs in this effect. Conditioned place preference (CPP) for morphine was induced in Sprague-Dawley rats, followed by extinction training. Preference for the morphine-paired side was reinstated following extinction by a morphine-priming injection. The results of our study showed that modafinil (300 mg/kg, i.p., but not 100 mg/kg) 30 min before the morphine-priming injection blocked reinstatement of extinguished CPP. The anti-reinstatement effect of modafinil was completely prevented by pretreatment with the selective mGlu2/3 antagonist LY341495. Additional experiments indicated that modafinil alone did not produce a preference, and that modafinil did not alter the expression of morphine CPP or the cueing properties of morphine either 1 or 14 days after morphine CPP conditioning. These data reveal a novel mechanism for modafinil actions, a role for mGlu2/3 receptors in reinstatement of opiate-seeking, and a new therapeutic option to treat relapse in opiate addiction.
Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science
2
4%
Other
8
15%
Unknown
12
22%
Attention Score in Context
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 7. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 27 March 2026.
All research outputs
#6,975,733
of 32,938,936 outputs
Outputs from Neuropsychopharmacology
#2,841
of 6,167 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#30,560
of 142,672 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Neuropsychopharmacology
#23
of 41 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 32,938,936 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done well and is in the 78th percentile: it's in the top 25% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 6,167 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 19.9. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 52% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 142,672 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done well, scoring higher than 78% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 41 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one is in the 39th percentile – i.e., 39% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.
