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Gastric vagotomy blocks opioid analgesia enhancement produced by placenta ingestion

  • SUNY Buffalo

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

16 Scopus citations

Abstract

Ingestion of amniotic fluid or placenta by rats has been shown to enhance opioid-mediated analgesia induced by morphine injection, footshock, vaginal/cervical stimulation, or late pregnancy. This enhancement by ingestion appears to be specific to the central actions of opioids. The present study was designed to examine the possibility that information traveling via the vagus nerve might be involved in mediating this effect. Rats that had undergone either selective gastric vagotomy or sham vagotomy were injected with either morphine sulfate or vehicle and fed either placenta or a meat control. Enhancement was observed in rats that had undergone sham vagotomy but not in those that had undergone gastric vagotomy. These results support an interpretation of vagal involvement in the enhancement of opioid-mediated analgesia by placenta.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)179-182
Number of pages4
JournalPhysiology and Behavior
Volume52
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 1992

Keywords

  • Analgesia
  • Morphine
  • Opioids
  • Pain
  • Placenta
  • Placentophagia
  • POEF
  • Rats
  • Tail-flick latency
  • Vagotomy
  • Vagus

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