Open AccessNeuronal mechanisms underlying opioid-induced respiratory depression: our current understanding
Author(s) -
JanMarino Ramirez,
Nicholas Burgraff,
Aguan Wei,
Nathan A. Baertsch,
Angelika Varga,
Helen A. Baghdoyan,
Ralph Lydic,
Kendall F. Morris,
Donald C. Bolser,
Erica S. Levitt
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of neurophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.302
H-Index - 245
eISSN - 1522-1598
pISSN - 0022-3077
DOI - 10.1152/jn.00017.2021
Subject(s) - neuroscience , opioid , depression (economics) , psychology , medicine , receptor , economics , macroeconomics
Opioid-induced respiratory depression (OIRD) represents the primary cause of death associated with therapeutic and recreational opioid use. Within the United States, the rate of death from opioid abuse since the early 1990s has grown disproportionally, prompting the classification as a nationwide "epidemic." Since this time, we have begun to unravel many fundamental cellular and systems-level mechanisms associated with opioid-related death. However, factors such as individual vulnerability, neuromodulatory compensation, and redundancy of opioid effects across central and peripheral nervous systems have created a barrier to a concise, integrative view of OIRD. Within this review, we bring together multiple perspectives in the field of OIRD to create an overarching viewpoint of what we know, and where we view this essential topic of research going forward into the future.