Skip to main content
PMC home page
British Journal of Pharmacology logoLink to British Journal of Pharmacology
. 1989 Mar;96(3):617–622. doi: 10.1111/j.1476-5381.1989.tb11860.x

Swim-stress-induced antinociception in young rats.

H C Jackson 1, I Kitchen 1
PMCID: PMC1854388  PMID: 2720296

Abstract

1. Opioid and non-opioid mechanisms have been implicated in the phenomenon of stress-induced antinociception in adult rodents. We have studied stress-induced antinociception in developing rats and characterized differences in the neurochemical basis of this effect in pre- and post-weanling animals. 2. Twenty and 25 day old rats were stressed using warm water (20 degrees C) swimming for 3 or 10 min periods and antinociception was assessed by the tail immersion test (50 degrees C). 3. A 3 min swim in 20 and 25 day old rats produced marked antinociception which was blocked by naloxone, Mr 1452, 16-methyl cyprenorphine and levallorphan but not Mr 1453 or N-methyl levallorphan. The delta-opioid receptor antagonist ICI 174,864 attenuated stress-induced antinociception in 25 day old rats but was without effect in 20 day old animals. 4. A 10 min swim in 25 day old rats produced antinociception which was non-opioid in nature. In contrast, antinociception was not observed in 20 day old rats after a 10 min swim-stress. 5. Pretreatment of animals with dexamethasone blocked 3 min swim-stress antinociception in 20 and 25 day old animals but had no effect on antinociception induced by a 10 min swim. 6. Swim-stress-induced antinociception can be observed in young rats and dissociated into opioid and non-opioid types dependent on the duration of swimming stress. The non-opioid type appears to develop more slowly and cannot be observed in preweanling rats. The opioid type is a predominantly mu-receptor phenomenon in preweanling animals but delta-receptor components are observable in postweanling rats.

Full text

PDF
617

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Amir S., Amit Z. Endogenous opioid ligands may mediate stress-induced changes in the affective properties of pain related behavior in rats. Life Sci. 1978 Sep 18;23(11):1143–1151. doi: 10.1016/0024-3205(78)90348-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bardo M. T., Bhatnagar R. K., Gebhart G. F. Opiate receptor ontogeny and morphine-induced effects: influence of chronic footshock stress in preweanling rats. Brain Res. 1981 Jul;227(4):487–495. doi: 10.1016/0165-3806(81)90003-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bodnar R. J., Kelly D. D., Brutus M., Mansour A., Glusman M. 2-Deoxy-D-glucose-induced decrements in operant and reflex pain thresholds. Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 1978 Oct;9(4):543–549. doi: 10.1016/0091-3057(78)90056-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Bodnar R. J., Kelly D. D., Spiaggia A., Ehrenberg C., Glusman M. Dose-dependent reductions by naloxone of analgesia induced by cold-water stress. Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 1978 Jun;8(6):667–672. doi: 10.1016/0091-3057(78)90264-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Bodnar R. J., Kelly D. D., Steiner S. S., Glusman M. Stress-produced analgesia and morphine-produced analgesia: lack of cross-tolerance. Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 1978 Jun;8(6):661–666. doi: 10.1016/0091-3057(78)90263-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Chance W. T., Nelson J. L. Antagonism of stress-induced analgesia by quaternary naloxone. Brain Res. 1986 Aug 20;380(2):394–396. doi: 10.1016/0006-8993(86)90243-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Cohen M. L., Shuman R. T., Osborne J. J., Gesellchen P. D. Opioid agonist activity of ICI 174864 and its carboxypeptidase degradation product, LY281217. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 1986 Sep;238(3):769–772. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Cotton R., Giles M. G., Miller L., Shaw J. S., Timms D. ICI 174864: a highly selective antagonist for the opioid delta-receptor. Eur J Pharmacol. 1984 Jan 27;97(3-4):331–332. doi: 10.1016/0014-2999(84)90470-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Dragonetti M., Bianchetti A., Sacilotto R., Giudice A., Ferrarese N., Cattaneo C., Manara L. Levallorphan methyl iodide (SR 58002), a potent narcotic antagonist with peripheral selectivity superior to that of other quaternary compounds. Life Sci. 1983;33 (Suppl 1):477–480. doi: 10.1016/0024-3205(83)90545-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Hamm R. J., Knisely J. S. Developmental changes in environmentally induced analgesia. Brain Res. 1984 May;316(1):93–99. doi: 10.1016/0165-3806(84)90012-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Hamm R. J., Knisely J. S. Ontogeny of an endogenous, nonopioid and hormonally mediated analgesic system. Dev Psychobiol. 1987 Sep;20(5):539–548. doi: 10.1002/dev.420200507. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Hart S. L., Slusarczyk H., Smith T. W. The effects of selective opioid delta-receptor antagonists on stress-induced antinociception and plasma corticosterone levels in mice. Neuropeptides. 1985 Feb;5(4-6):303–306. doi: 10.1016/0143-4179(85)90013-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Jacob J. J., Ramabadran K. Opioid antagonists, endogenous ligands and nociception. Eur J Pharmacol. 1977 Dec 15;46(4):393–394. doi: 10.1016/0014-2999(77)90235-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Kehoe P., Blass E. M. Behaviorally functional opioid systems in infant rats: II. Evidence for pharmacological, physiological, and psychological mediation of pain and stress. Behav Neurosci. 1986 Oct;100(5):624–630. doi: 10.1037//0735-7044.100.5.624. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Kitchen I., McDowell J., Winder C., Wilson J. M. Low-level lead exposure alters morphine antinociception in neonatal rats. Toxicol Lett. 1984 Aug;22(2):119–123. doi: 10.1016/0378-4274(84)90054-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Lewis J. W., Cannon J. T., Liebeskind J. C. Opioid and nonopioid mechanisms of stress analgesia. Science. 1980 May 9;208(4444):623–625. doi: 10.1126/science.7367889. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Madden J., 4th, Akil H., Patrick R. L., Barchas J. D. Stress-induced parallel changes in central opioid levels and pain responsiveness in the rat. Nature. 1977 Jan 27;265(5592):358–360. doi: 10.1038/265358a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. McDowell J., Kitchen I. Ontogenesis of delta-opioid receptors in rat brain using [3H][D-Pen2,D-Pen5]enkephalin as a binding ligand. Eur J Pharmacol. 1986 Sep 9;128(3):287–289. doi: 10.1016/0014-2999(86)90780-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. McGivern R., Berka C., Berntson G. G., Walker J. M., Sandman C. A. Effect of naloxone on analgesia induced by food deprivation. Life Sci. 1979 Sep 3;25(10):885–888. doi: 10.1016/0024-3205(79)90547-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Smith C. F. 16-Me cyprenorphine (RX 8008M): a potent opioid antagonist with some delta selectivity. Life Sci. 1987 Jan 19;40(3):267–274. doi: 10.1016/0024-3205(87)90342-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Terman G. W., Morgan M. J., Liebeskind J. C. Opioid and non-opioid stress analgesia from cold water swim: importance of stress severity. Brain Res. 1986 Apr 30;372(1):167–171. doi: 10.1016/0006-8993(86)91472-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Terman G. W., Shavit Y., Lewis J. W., Cannon J. T., Liebeskind J. C. Intrinsic mechanisms of pain inhibition: activation by stress. Science. 1984 Dec 14;226(4680):1270–1277. doi: 10.1126/science.6505691. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from British Journal of Pharmacology are provided here courtesy of The British Pharmacological Society

RESOURCES