Document Type : Review Article(s)
Authors
1
Department of Addiction Studies, School of Medicine, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran
2
kashan university of medical sciences
3
Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran
4
Department of Biology and Health Sciences, Meredith college, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
5
Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Paramedical and Rehabilitation Science, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
Abstract
The role of the orexinergic system and its receptors in many physiological processes such as arousal, energy homeostasis, sensory modulation, stress processing, cognition, endocrine functions, visceral functions and pain modulation has been evaluated and recognized. Many studies have shown that the orexinergic system cooperates with the dopaminergic system in the development of drug addiction. Emerging evidence suggests that the orexinergic system can be effective in the development of drug tolerance and dependence. Therefore, several researches have been conducted on the effect of orexin receptor antagonists on reducing tolerance and dependence caused by drug abuse. Due to the significant growth of the studies conducted on the orexinergic system, the current literature was conducted to collect the findings of previous studies on orexin and its receptors (orexin type 1 receptor and orexin type 2 receptor) in the development of drug addiction. In addition, cellular and molecular mechanisms of the possible role of orexin in drug tolerance and dependence are discussed. The findings indicate that the administration of orexin receptor antagonists reduces the development of drug dependence. Orexin receptor blockers seem to counteract the addictive effects of drugs through multiple mechanisms, such as preventing neuronal adaptation. This review proposes the potential clinical use of orexin receptor antagonists in the treatment of drug dependence.
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