Effects of chronic morphine exposure on the transcriptome of nucleus accumbens (NAc) in mice

Morphine addiction causes major medical and social problems worldwide. Chronic morphine exposure results in the development of behavioral sensitization, accompanied by the disruption of brain homeostasis. As a key brain reward region, nucleus accumbens (NAc) plays a central role in brain reward mechanisms. However, the contribution of morphine exposure to NAc is poorly understood. Here we indicated that chronic morphine exposure induced neuroinflammation, abnormal neuronal physiology, and dysregulation of glycolytic metabolism in NAc. In summary, our findings illustrate the effects of morphine in NAc, and provide a new insight for development of future morphine addiction therapeutics. Comparative gene expression profiling analysis of RNA-seq data for nucleus accumbens (NAc) of C57BL/6 male mice receiving morphine vs. saline exposure.