The role of nociceptin in cognition
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 18, 2026

Teasing Out the Interplay Between Natural Killer Cells and Nociceptor Neurons
Published on: June 30, 2022
T Nabeshima1, Y Noda, T Mamiya
1Department of Neuropsychopharmacology and Hospital Pharmacy, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan. tnabeshi@med.nagoya-u.ac.jp
Abstract:
The physiological role of the modulation via the nociceptin receptor is still unclear. Here we report the role of the nociceptin system in learning and memory. Nociceptin-knockout mice possess greater learning ability in the water maze task, show an enhanced latent learning in the water finding task, have better memory in the passive avoidance task, and further, show larger long-term potentiation in the hippocampal CA1 region than wild-type mice. Nociceptin itself induces an impairment of the passive avoidance task in wild-type mice. This impairment is reversed by naloxone benzoylhydrazone (NalBzoH), but not by other opioids in wild-type mice. Further, experiments on cultured cells transfected with nociceptin receptor cDNA show that NalBzoH competes [3H]-nociceptin binding and attenuates the nociceptin-induced inhibition of cAMP accumulation induced by forskolin. These results demonstrate that the nociceptin system seems to play a negative role in learning and memory and that NalBzoH acts as a potent antagonist for the nociceptin receptor. In addition, the antagonists for the nociceptin receptor may be worth testing for alleviating memory disorders.
Related Concept Videos
Nociception
Cognitive Enhancers: Cholinesterase Inhibitors and NMDA Receptor Antagonists
Ligand-Gated Ion Channel Receptor: Gating Mechanism
Pain
Analgesia and Pain Management
The Role of Ion Channels in Neuronal Computation
Sometimes a single EPSP is strong enough to induce an action potential in the postsynaptic neuron. However, multiple presynaptic inputs must often create EPSPs around the same time for the postsynaptic neuron to be sufficiently depolarized to fire an action potential.

