title: Anxiety-induced antinociception in the mouse.
abstract: It has been suggested that exposure to the elevated plus-maze (EPM) apparatus induces antinociceptive effects in mice as measured by the tail-flick assay, which are not blocked by the opiate antagonist naltrexone. The present study performed on 3-month old male EPM-M1 albino mice (12-14 animals per group) was designed to assess a) if exposure limited to the open or to the enclosed arm of the EPM would alter this effect; b) whether or not pharmacologically induced anxiety (1.0 mg/kg pentylenetetrazole, PTZ) would also reduce nociception; c) if exposure to the EPM would alter visceral pain, as measured by the abdominal contortion test. The simultaneous exposure to both the open and enclosed arms of the EPM, but not the exposure limited to each type of arm, led to statistically significant increases in tail withdrawal latencies (TWL). Indeed, 10 min after exposure to both arms, TWL values (mean +/- SEM) were 10.31 +/- 0.87 s as compared to a baseline value of 5.46 +/- 0.53 s. The acute administration of PTZ significantly increased TWL. Conversely, EPM-induced antinociception was not detected by the abdominal contortion test. These results confirm the existence of EPM-induced antinociceptive effects demonstrated by others and show that they may be influenced by multiple determinants.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Farmacologia, Escola Paulista de Medicina, São Paulo, Brasil.
authors.forename: I M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Conceição
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maiolini Júnior
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mattia
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Vital
authors.forename: B R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Smaili
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Frussa-Filho
mesh_terms: D000698:Analgesia; D000818:Animals; D001007:Anxiety / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D010146:Pain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010433:Pentylenetetrazole; D011897:Random Allocation; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D013623:Tail; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D010433:Pentylenetetrazole