Brain research
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Antinociception produced by microinjection of morphine in the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray is mediated in part by alpha2-adrenoceptors in the spinal cord dorsal horn. However, several recent reports demonstrate that microinjection of morphine in the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray inhibits nociceptive responses to noxious heating of the tail by activating descending neuronal systems that are different from those that inhibit the nociceptive responses to noxious heating of the feet. More specifically, alpha2-adrenoceptors appear to mediate the antinociception produced by morphine using the tail-flick test, but not that using the foot-withdrawal or hot-plate tests. ⋯ In contrast, either prazosin or WB4101 partially reversed the increase in the tail-flick response latency produced by morphine. These results indicate that microinjection of morphine in the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray modulates nociceptive responses to noxious heating of the feet by activating descending neuronal systems that are different from those that inhibit the nociceptive responses to noxious heating of the tail. More specifically, alpha1-adrenoceptors mediate a pro-nociceptive action of morphine using the foot-withdrawal response, but in contrast, alpha1-adrenoceptors appear to mediate part of the antinociceptive effect of morphine determined using the tail-flick test.
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The present study was designed to investigate Fos-positive neurons of the female rat brain at various reproductive states in order to analyze the metabolic map connected with pregnancy, parturition and lactation. The number of Fos-positive neurons in each brain nucleus was analyzed with a quantitative immunohistochemical method in virgin, pregnant, parturient, lactating and arrested lactating rats. In parturient rats, a significant number of Fos-positive neurons was observed as compared to virgin or pregnant females in the following brain regions; the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BST), lateral septal nucleus (LS), medial preoptic area (MPA), periventricular hypothalamic nucleus (Pe), parvocellular paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus (PaPVN), magnocellular paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus (MaPVN), supraoptic nucleus (SON), paraventricular thalamic nucleus (PV), anterior hypothalamic area (AHA), lateral hypothalamic area (LH), amygdaloid nucleus (AM), supramammillary nucleus (SuM), substantia nigra (SN), central grey (CG), microcellular tegmental nucleus (MiTg), subparafascicular thalamic nucleus (SPF), posterior hypothalamic area (PH), dorsal raphe nucleus (DR), locus coeruleus (LC), dorsal parabrachial nucleus (DPB), nucleus of solitary tract (Sol), and ventrolateral medulla (VLM). ⋯ These different patterns of Fos expression among many brain regions may be owing to the functional differences in each region. Fos expression in lactating rats was apparently induced by suckling stimulation because the removal of their litters immediately after parturition completely eliminated expression of Fos protein in each nucleus. These results suggest that the localization of Fos-positive neurons in a number of neural populations throughout the brain may be revealing the neural circuits in response to parturition or lactation.
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Subanesthetic doses of ketamine have been shown to exacerbate symptoms in schizophrenia and to induce positive, negative, and cognitive schizophrenic-like symptoms in normal subjects. The present investigation sought to define brain regions affected by subanesthetic doses of ketamine, using high resolution autoradiographic analysis of 14C-2-deoxyglucose (2-DG) uptake and immunocytochemical staining for Fos-like immunoreactivity (Fos-LI). Both functional mapping approaches were used because distinct and complementary information is often obtained with these two mapping methods. ⋯ By contrast, a robust induction of Fos-LI was observed after the anesthetic dose of ketamine that was neuroanatomically identical to that produced by the subanesthetic dose. Results of the present investigation show that anesthetic and subanesthetic doses of ketamine have pronounced effects on regional brain 2-DG uptake and induction of Fos-LI. The alterations in regional brain metabolism induced by the subanesthetic dose may be relevant to effects of ketamine to induce schizophrenic-like symptoms.
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Clinical Trial
Experimentally induced muscle pain induces hypoalgesia in heterotopic deep tissues, but not in homotopic deep tissues.
The ability of muscle pain to generate somatosensory sensibility changes is controversial. Thus, in the present study, tonic infusion of hypertonic saline (5%, 7.1 ml administered over 15 min) into the tibialis anterior (TA) muscle was used as an experimental model to induce local and referred pain. The sensibility to high-intensity pressure stimuli applied to the local pain area, referred pain area and an arm was assessed in 14 healthy volunteers. ⋯ The decrease in deep sensibility at the heterotopic sites (referred pain area and arm), but not at homotopic sites (TA muscle), probably reflected the phenomenon of diffuse noxious inhibitory control (DNIC). The inhibitory mechanism during muscle pain was shown to be effective for the deep tissue sensibility in healthy subjects. Thus, a pathologically disturbed inhibitory mechanism may result in widespread deep hyperalgesia in muscle pain patients.
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Mitochondrial dysfunction appears to occur during brain ischemia and following reperfusion. A characteristic event during reoxygenation after anoxia in hippocampal slices is hyperoxidation of the electron carriers of the mitochondrial respiratory chain. Earlier studies suggested that calcium influx due to loss of ion homeostasis during anoxia was linked to neuronal damage. ⋯ Reduction/oxidation shifts of NADH were measured by rapid scanning spectrofluorometry. Synaptic activity was indicated by population spike amplitudes in the CA1 pyramidal cell subfield of the hippocampus in response to stimulation of the Schaffer collaterals. We report here that mitochondrial hyperoxidation and synaptic activity in hippocampal slices are highly sensitive to the time in which slices remain depolarized (AD).