Abstract
Orphanin FQ or nociceptin (OFQ/N1-17) is a recently discovered peptide which, upon intracerebroventricular administration, reverses opioid- mediated analgesias. OFQ/N1-17 terminals are located in the periaqueductal gray (PAG), a structure known to be involved in pain modulation, suggesting that the functional anti-opioid effects of OFQ/N1- 17 are mediated by PAG neurons. To test this, subsequent microinjections of morphine or kainic acid and OFQ/N1-17 were made into the PAG of awake rats. Administration of OFQ/N1-17 attenuated the tail flick inhibition produced by both morphine and kainic acid microinjection. OFQ/N1-17 attenuation of antinociception produced by a neuroexcitant indicates that OFQ/N1-17 reverses opioid antinociception by inhibiting PAG output neurons.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 3431-3434 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | NeuroReport |
Volume | 8 |
Issue number | 16 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 1 1997 |
Keywords
- Analgesia
- Anti-opioid peptide
- Morphine
- Nociceptin
- Opioid
- Pain modulation
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Neuroscience(all)