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Updated: Aug 20, 2026

Assessment of Morphine-induced Hyperalgesia and Analgesic Tolerance in Mice Using Thermal and Mechanical Nociceptive Modalities
Published on: July 29, 2014
Advances in opioid pharmacology
1Pain Management Unit, Department of Anaesthesia and Pain Management, Flinders Medical Centre, The Flinders University of South Australia, 5042, Bedford Park, South Australia, Australia. Geoff.Gourlay@Flinders.edu.au
Abstract:
Natural and synthetic opioid compounds, either alone or in combination with other drugs, are widely used analgesics for patients with both acute and chronic pain. Decades of extensive pharmacologic investigations have characterized three high-affinity cell-surface neuronal receptors, the activation of which is responsible for both the desirable properties (antinociception) and undesirable properties (respiratory depression, nausea and vomiting, dependence, etc.) of opioid drugs. Recent research in molecular biology and pharmacogenetics in relation to opioids and their receptors has helped clarify previous pharmacologic observations and has laid the groundwork for new analgesic therapies with improved therapeutic outcomes.
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