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Emotional perception modulated by an opioid and a cholecystokinin agonist

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Abstract

Rationale

The cholecystokinin (CCK) and opioid neuromodulatory systems work in an antagonistic fashion and can modulate emotional states and noxious input in opposite directions. In this behavioral study, we generalize this idea and suggest that CCK and opioids can modulate the processing of other external signals, e.g., visual stimuli rather than only noxious input.

Objectives

The objective of this study was to determine whether CCK and an opioid agonist could modulate the emotional experience of visual stimuli.

Materials and methods

Thirteen healthy male volunteers viewed standardized pictures with either neutral or unpleasant content. Simultaneously, one of three treatments was administered in a randomized, double-blind crossover design: the CCKb receptor agonist pentagastrin (0.1 μg/kg), the mu-opioid receptor agonist remifentanil (0.0625 μg/kg), or saline. Self-ratings of the emotional experience of pictures and drugs were sampled together with psychological tests and recording of heart rate.

Results

Pentagastrin treatment increased the rating of unpleasantness for both neutral and unpleasant pictures, while it decreased the rating of pleasantness for the neutral pictures. These effects did not correlate with the degree of general unpleasantness induced by the drug. Remifentanil treatment increased the pleasantness for the neutral pictures. While pentagastrin treatment induced a heart rate increase, unpleasant pictures induced a heart rate decrease, and the magnitude of change in heart rate correlated positively for these conditions.

Conclusions

This study shows that the CCK and the opioid system modulate how external stimuli are emotionally perceived, suggesting a possible involvement in affective disorders.

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Acknowledgment

We thank the clinical staff at the Karolinska University Hospital for all the valuable help. The present research was in part supported by the Swedish Lundbeck foundation and the Karolinska Institutet. Dr Petrovic had access to all the data in the study and takes all the responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis. Financial disclosure or financial interests: none. The authors confirm that there are no competing interests.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. MR-Centre, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, N-8, Karolinska University Hospital, 17176, Stockholm, Sweden

    Katarina Gospic, Peter Fransson, Martin Ingvar & Predrag Petrovic

  2. Psychiatry Karolinska Northwest, 17176, Stockholm, Sweden

    Tove Gunnarsson

  3. Section of Psychiatry, M56, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital, Huddinge, 14186, Stockholm, Sweden

    Nils Lindefors

Authors
  1. Katarina Gospic
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  2. Tove Gunnarsson
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  3. Peter Fransson
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  4. Martin Ingvar
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  5. Nils Lindefors
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  6. Predrag Petrovic
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Correspondence to Katarina Gospic.

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Gospic, K., Gunnarsson, T., Fransson, P. et al. Emotional perception modulated by an opioid and a cholecystokinin agonist. Psychopharmacology 197, 295–307 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-007-1032-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-007-1032-4

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