A possible interface between autonomic function and pain control: opioid analgesia and the nucleus tractus solitarius

Opioid peptides appear to be important neurochemical mediators in central nervous system mechanisms of analgesia, cardiovascular control, and many endocrinological responses to stress. The nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS), a brain region expressing all 3 opioid peptide families, is also associated with regulation of autonomic and endocrine functions. We now report that electrical stimulation of the NTS causes pronounced analgesia in rats. This analgesia appears to involve opioids and is pharmacologically dissociable from the hemodynamic changes elicited by NTS stimulation. These results suggest the NTS as a neural substrate for inter-relationships between stress, cardiovascular function, alterations in respiration, and pain sensitivity.