Evaluation of morphine analgesia and motor coordination in mice following cortex-specific knockout of the N-methyl-D-aspartate NR1-subunit.

Neuroscience Letters
Gabriel C QuinteroAnthony L Vaccarino

Abstract

Studies have shown that N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors play a critical role in morphine analgesia and motoric processes at different levels of the central nervous system. In this study, we used cortex-specific NR1 knockout (KO) mice (C57BL/6 strain) to elucidate the role of cortical NMDA receptors in morphine analgesia and motor coordination. On post-natal day 20, mice (CTL and KO) received vehicle (saline) or morphine (10 mg/kg) and paw withdrawal latency (PWL) to a noxious thermal stimulus was measured. On post-natal day 21, motor coordination was measured using the rotating pole test. No differences in KO mice were found with respect to PWL following administration of saline or morphine (p>0.05). However, sex-dependent differences were found in motor coordination, with male KO mice showing a greater motor impairment in the rotating pole test than female KO mice (p<0.05). The present results demonstrate that NMDA receptors are involved in both the analgesic effects of morphine and motor coordination, with the existence of sex-related differences in motor coordination.

References

Sep 23, 1988·European Journal of Pharmacology·Y F Jacquet
Jun 18, 1999·The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism·B S McEwen
Mar 7, 2003·Human Movement Science·Jan P PiekIan Case
Sep 23, 2003·Anesthesia and Analgesia·Andrei B PetrenkoKoki Shimoji
Sep 8, 2007·Neuroscience Letters·Gabriel C QuinteroAnthony L Vaccarino
Sep 21, 2007·The European Journal of Neuroscience·Stephan NiemannYasunori Hayashi

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Citations

Apr 5, 2011·The Journals of Gerontology. Series A, Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences·Kathy Ruth MagnussonPeter R Patrylo
Oct 2, 2009·Peptides·Richard J Bodnar
Jun 1, 2017·NPJ Schizophrenia·Kazu NakazawaKazuhito Nakao

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