Morphine-mediated abnormal neuronal activation boosts mitochondrial fragmentation

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. Furthermore, neurons in NAc are impaired by chronic morphine abuse, but the contribution of morphine exposure to neurons is poorly understood. Here we indicated that morphine-induced an abnormal neuronal activation in NAc. Critically, we found a remarkable increase of mitochondrial fragmentation in neurons following burst activity. Taken together, these results define the effects of morphine on neurons in NAc, and provide a new insight for development of future morphine addiction therapeutics.