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Papers: 5 Jun 2021 - 11 Jun 2021


Animal Studies


2021 Jun 07


Neurosci Lett

Bimodal transcranial direct current stimulation reduces alcohol consumption and induces long-term neurochemical changes in rats with neuropathic pain.

Authors

Santos D S, Medeiros L F, Stein D J, de Macedo I C, Evandro Da Silva Rios D, de Oliveira C, Toledo R S, Fregni F, Caumo W, Torres ILS
Neurosci Lett. 2021 Jun 07:136014.
PMID: 34111512.

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of repeated bimodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on alcohol consumption and immunohistological and neurochemical parameters in nerve-injured rats. Forty-eight adult male Wistar rats were distributed into six groups: control, neuropathic pain (NP)+sham-tDCS, NP+alcohol+sham-tDCS, alcohol+sham-tDCS, alcohol+tDCS, and NP+alcohol+tDCS. NP is induced by chronic sciatic nerve constriction (CCI). The rats were exposed to a 10% alcohol solution by voluntary consumption for 14 days. From the 16 day after surgery, bimodal tDCS was applied for 20 minutes/day for 8 days. Brain structures were collected to evaluate the number of neuropeptide Y (NPY)-positive neurons, neurites, and argyrophilic grains by immunohistochemistry, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), nerve growth factor (NGF), interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-10 by ELISA. Nerve-injured rats showed a progressive increase in alcohol consumption compared to the non-injured rats. In addition, there was a reduction in voluntary alcohol consumption over time induced by tDCS. Alcohol exposure, chronic pain, and tDCS treatment modulated the central NPY immunoreactivity. tDCS increased the cerebellar levels of IL-6 and IL-10, and CCI and/or tDCS reduced striatal BDNF levels. The current data suggest that tDCS could be a promising non-pharmacological adjuvant to treat patients with chronic pain who use alcohol to relieve their symptoms.