Naloxone-precipitated morphine withdrawal increases pontine glutamate levels in the rat

Extracellular fluid (ECF) levels of glutamate (Glu) and aspartate (Asp) were measured in the locus coeruleus (LC) during morphine withdrawal by using microdialysis in conscious morphine-dependent Sprague-Dawley rats. Guide cannulae were implanted chronically and rats were given intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) infusions of morphine (26 nmol/1 microliters/hr) or saline (1 microliters/hr) for 3 days. Microdialysis probes (2 mm tip) were inserted into the LC 24 hr before precipitation of withdrawal by i.c.v. injection of naloxone (12 or 48 nmol/5 microliters). Behavioral evidence of withdrawal (teeth-chattering, wet-dog shakes, etc.) was detected following naloxone challenge in morphine, but not in saline-infused rats. Increases (P < 0.01) in ECF levels of Glu (and Asp, to a lesser degree) were noted after naloxone-precipitated withdrawal only in the morphine group. The ECF Glu levels in the LC increased from 9.6 +/- 2.7 to 15.5 +/- 5.0 microM following 12 nmol/5 microliters naloxone, and from 9.5 +/- 1.9 to 20.5 +/- 3.3 microM following 48 nmol/5 microliters naloxone, before and in the first 15 min sample after the precipitation of withdrawal in the morphine-dependent rats, respectively. These results provide direct evidence to support the role of excitatory amino acids within the LC in morphine withdrawal.