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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 20, 2026

Assessment of Morphine-induced Hyperalgesia and Analgesic Tolerance in Mice Using Thermal and Mechanical Nociceptive Modalities
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Published on: July 29, 2014

Revisiting tolerance from the endogenous morphine perspective.

George B Stefano1, Richard M Kream, Tobias Esch

  • 1Neuroscience Research Institute, State University of New York, College at Old Westbury, Old Westbury, NY 11568, USA. gstefano@sunynri.org

Medical Science Monitor : International Medical Journal of Experimental and Clinical Research
|September 2, 2009
PubMed
Summary

Tolerance is a survival mechanism that tempers bodily processes, including those related to pleasure and reward. This dynamic adaptation ensures essential functions resume after temporary desensitization to stimuli like morphine.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Immunology
  • Behavioral Biology

Background:

  • Tolerance is a dynamic regulatory mechanism affecting both excitatory and inhibitory processes.
  • It involves state-dependent attenuation of endogenous and exogenous morphine actions.
  • Tolerance is crucial for maintaining essential physiological functions over time.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the role of tolerance in tempering regulatory processes.
  • To investigate the link between tolerance and survival mechanisms.
  • To propose that tolerance extends to behaviors mediated by central nervous system (CNS) reward systems.

Main Methods:

  • The study is primarily theoretical, based on existing biological understanding.
  • It synthesizes findings from neuroscience and immunology.
  • It proposes a conceptual framework for understanding tolerance in reward behaviors.

Main Results:

  • Tolerance ensures that morphine-induced immuno-inhibition does not compromise systems long-term.
  • In the nervous system, tolerance to inhibition allows for the resumption of excitatory tone.
  • Desensitization enables essential processes to become operational again.

Conclusions:

  • Temporal rebound in immune and nervous processes related to opiates is a self-contained survival mechanism.
  • Complex neurobiological phenomena like pleasure and satiety depend on neurotransmitters and neuropeptides.
  • Tolerance mechanisms are critical for behaviors mediated by CNS reward systems, leading to temporary satisfaction and subsequent return of urges.