Female rat hippocampal cell density after conditioned place preference

The hippocampus is important for learning tasks, such as conditioned place preference (CPP), which is widely used as a model for studying the reinforcing effects of drugs with dependence liability. Long-term opiate use may produce maladaptive plasticity in the brain structures involved in learning and memory, such as the hippocampus. We investigated the phenomenon of conditioning with morphine on the cell density of female rat hippocampus. Forty-eight female Wistar rats weighing on average 200-250 g were used. Rats were distributed into eight groups. Experimental groups received morphine daily (three days) at different doses (2.5, 5, 7.5 mg/kg) and the control-saline group received normal saline (1 ml/kg), and then the CPP test was performed. Three sham groups received only different doses (2.5, 5, 7.5 mg/kg) of morphine without CPP test. Forty-eight hours after behavioural testing animals were decapitated under chloroform anaesthesia and their brains were fixed, and after tissue processing, slices were stained with cresyl violet for neurons and phosphotungstic acid haematoxylin for astrocytes. The maximum response was obtained with 5 mg/kg of morphine. The density of neurons in CA1 and CA3 areas of hippocampus after injection of morphine and CPP was decreased. The number of astrocytes in different areas of hippocampus was increased after injection of morphine and CPP. It seems that the effective dose was 5 mg/kg, as it led to the CPP. We concluded that both injection of mor phine and CPP can decrease the density of neurons and also increase the number of astrocytes in the rat hippocampus.