Pablo Berrios-Carcamo

• Doctor of Pharmacy
• Universidad del Desarrollo

Background: Several studies have shown that the ethanol-derived metabolite salsolinol (SAL) can activate the mesolimbic system, suggesting that SAL is the active molecule mediating the rewarding effects of ethanol. In vitro and in vivo studies suggest that SAL exerts its action on neuron excitability through a mechanism involving opioid neurotransm...

Dopamine (DA) condenses, at least in vitro, with acetaldehyde, the primary metabolite of ethanol, to form the regioisomers salsolinol (SAL) and isosalsolinol (isoSAL). An alternative in vivo route to SAL, requiring a decarboxylation step, has been suggested via condensation of DA with pyruvic acid. SAL has been proposed as a mediator of the rewardi...

Ethanol is oxidized in the brain to acetaldehyde, which can condense with dopamine to generate (R/S)-salsolinol [(RS)-SAL]. Racemic salsolinol [(RS)-SAL] is self-infused by rats into the posterior ventral tegmental area (VTA) at significantly lower concentrations than those of acetaldehyde, suggesting that (RS)-SAL is a most active product of ethan...

Background: A number of studies have shown that acetaldehyde synthesized in the brain is necessary to induce ethanol (EtOH) reinforcement in naïve animals (acquisition phase). However, after chronic intake is achieved (maintenance phase), EtOH intake becomes independent of acetaldehyde generation or its levels. Glutamate has been reported to be as...

Growing preclinical and clinical evidence suggests a link between gut microbiota dysbiosis and problematic alcohol consumption. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are key mediators involved in bacteria‐to‐host communication. However, their potential role in mediating addictive behaviour remains unexplored. This study investigates the role of gut microbio...

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) represents a public health crisis with few FDA-approved medications for its treatment. Growing evidence supports the key role of the bidirectional communication between the gut microbiota and the central nervous system (CNS) during the initiation and progression of alcohol use disorder. Among the different protective mole...

Methadone is a synthetic long-acting opioid that is increasingly used in the replacement therapy of opioid-addicted patients, including pregnant women. However, methadone therapy in this population poses challenges, as it induces cognitive and behavioral impairments in infants exposed to this opioid during prenatal development. In animal models, pr...

Chronic ethanol exposure often triggers neuroinflammation in the brain’s reward system, potentially promoting the drive for ethanol consumption. A main marker of neuroinflammation is the microglia-derived monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP1) in animal models of alcohol use disorder in which ethanol is forcefully given. However, there are confl...

Chronic opioid intake leads to several brain changes involved in the development of dependence, whereby an early hedonistic effect (liking) extends to the need to self-administer the drug (wanting), the latter being mostly a prefrontal–striatal function. The development of animal models for voluntary oral opioid intake represents an important tool...

Background Morphine is an opiate commonly used in the treatment of moderate to severe pain. However, prolonged administration can lead to physical dependence and strong withdrawal symptoms upon cessation of morphine use. These symptoms can include anxiety, irritability, increased heart rate, and muscle cramps, which strongly promote morphine use re...

Rationale: Neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are implicated in the reinforcing effects of nicotine and ethanol. Previous studies have shown that cytisine and its 5-bromo derivative are partial agonists at the α4β2 nAChRs and that the parent molecule cytisine is effective in reducing both nicotine- and ethanol-self-administration...

The present study investigates the possible therapeutic effects of human mesenchymal stem cell-derived secretome on morphine dependence and relapse. This was studied in a new model of chronic voluntary morphine intake in Wistar rats which shows classic signs of morphine intoxication and a severe naloxone-induced withdrawal syndrome. A single intran...

Alcohol consumption is a global healthcare problem with enormous social, economic, and clinical consequences. The liver sustains the earliest and the greatest degree of tissue injury due to chronic alcohol consumption and it has been estimated that alcoholic liver disease (ALD) accounts for almost 50% of all deaths from cirrhosis in the world. In t...

An animal model of voluntary oral morphine consumption would allow for a pre-clinical evaluation of new treatments aimed at reducing opioid intake in humans. However, the main limitation of oral morphine consumption in rodents is its bitter taste, which is strongly aversive. Taste aversion is often overcome by the use of adulterants, such as sweete...

Drug abuse is a major global health and economic problem. However, there are no pharmacological treatments to effectively reduce the compulsive use of most drugs of abuse. Despite exerting different mechanisms of action, all drugs of abuse promote the activation of the brain reward system, with lasting neurobiological consequences that potentiate s...

Chronic alcohol intake leads to neuroinflammation and cell injury, proposed to result in alterations that perpetuate alcohol intake and cued relapse. Studies show that brain oxidative stress is consistently associated with alcohol-induced neuroinflammation, and literature implies that oxidative stress and neuroinflammation perpetuate each other. In...

The cover image is based on the Research Article Molecular modeling of salsolinol, a full Gi protein agonist of the μ‐opioid receptor, within the receptor binding site by Pablo Berríos‐Cárcamo et al.,https://doi.org/10.1111/cbdd.13523. Cover image design © Lijuan Wen.

Background: Chronic consumption of most drugs of abuse leads to brain oxidative stress and neuroinflammation, which inhibit the glutamate transporter GLT-1, proposed to perpetuate drug intake. The present study aimed at inhibiting chronic ethanol and nicotine self-administration and relapse by the non-invasive intranasal administration of antioxid...

(R/S)‐Salsolinol is a full agonist of the μ‐opioid receptor (μOR) Gi protein pathway via its (S)‐enantiomer and is functionally selective as it does not promote β‐arrestin recruitment. Compared to (S)‐salsolinol, the (R)‐enantiomer is a less potent agonist of the Gi protein pathway. We have now studied the interactions of the salsolinol enantiomers...

Excessive consumption of alcohol is a leading cause of lifestyle-induced morbidity and mortality worldwide. Although long-term alcohol abuse has been shown to be detrimental to the liver, brain and many other organs, our understanding of the exact molecular mechanisms by which this occurs is still limited. In tissues, ethanol is metabolized to acet...