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Auricular microelectrostimulation: naloxone-reversible attenuation of opiate abstinence syndrome
D H Malin1, J B Murray, G P Crucian
1Program in Behavioral Science, University of Houston-Clear Lake, TX 77058.
Biological Psychiatry
|December 1, 1988
Abstract:
This study evaluated the effects in rats of very low amplitude (10 mu amp) charge-balanced 10-Hz stimulation delivered bilaterally to low impedance points on the outer ear. This microelectrostimulation markedly and significantly reduced the number of opiate abstinence signs observed following a week of continuous morphine infusion. This effect was prevented by subcutaneous injection of 3 mg/kg naloxone, suggesting that stimulation of endogenous opioid activity plays a major role in the actions of auricular microelectrostimulation.