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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2013 Dec 13.
Published in final edited form as: Neuroscience. 2012 Sep 19;226:165–177. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2012.09.028

Figure 7. NADPH-d Histochemistry Reaction of the Adult Rat.

Figure 7

Representative images of NADPH-d staining in the laterodorsal tegmental nucleus (LDTg) in adult rats treated with chronic injections of normal saline (control; A) versus chronic morphine (tolerant; B). Examples of lightly labeled neurons are marked with white arrow, while dark ones are indicated with black arrows. Total number of labeled NADPH-d neurons per brain across the LDTg is unchanged among different pharmacological groups (n=6/group; F(2,15)=1.79; p=0.2). Panel C illustrates that the percent (%) of intensely labeled (dark) NADPH-d neurons/section/brain was significantly higher in the chronic morphine group (F(2,15)=11.39, p<0.001; 60.18% ± 12.49) in comparison to both control (21.64% ± 11.25; p<0.01) and acute morphine (34.91% ± 17.97; p<0.05) groups, while the % of lightly labeled NADPH-d neurons/section/brain was significantly lower in chronic morphine group (F(2,15)=11.96, p<0.001; 39.83% ± 12.49) in comparison to both control (78.86% ± 10.53; p<0.01) and acute morphine (65.09% ± 17.97; p<0.05) groups. Panel D shows significant changes in percent intensity of NADPH-d reaction per individual neuron in the adult LDTg between the three treatment groups (F(2,15)=13.45; p<0.001). Specifically, the average intensity of NADPH-d reaction per individual adult neuron of LDTg increased by 44% in the group that received chronic morphine treatment compared to control (p<0.01) and acute morphine (p<0.01) groups. Scale bar = 100 µm. Abbreviations: Aq, cerebral aqueduct; NADPH-d, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate diaphorase; *, significant difference.