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Mu 1 opioid receptor involvement in maternal behavior.
P E Mann1, G W Pasternak, R S Bridges
1Department of Anatomy and Cellular Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115.
Physiology & Behavior
|January 1, 1990
Summary
Morphine disrupts maternal behavior in rats. Naloxonazine, a mu 1 opioid receptor antagonist, partially blocked this effect, suggesting mu 1 receptors mediate morphine
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Behavioral Neuroscience
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Morphine is known to inhibit maternal behavior in lactating rats.
- The specific opioid receptor subtype responsible for morphine's effects on maternal behavior remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether morphine's disruption of maternal behavior is mediated by the mu 1 opioid receptor subtype.
- To evaluate the efficacy of naloxonazine, a selective mu 1 opioid receptor antagonist, in blocking morphine's effects.
Main Methods:
- Primiparous lactating rats were surgically prepared with jugular catheters.
- Maternal behavior was assessed after various treatments: morphine alone, morphine with naloxonazine pretreatment, or morphine with naloxone pretreatment.
- Naloxonazine and naloxone were administered at different time points and doses relative to morphine.
Main Results:
- Morphine alone completely inhibited maternal behavior.
- Pretreatment with naloxone blocked morphine's inhibitory effect.
- Pretreatment with naloxonazine partially attenuated morphine's disruption of maternal behavior, particularly pup retrieval.
Conclusions:
- The mu 1 opioid receptor subtype plays a role in mediating morphine's inhibitory effects on maternal behavior in rats.
- Selective antagonism of mu 1 receptors with naloxonazine can partially prevent morphine-induced behavioral deficits.