title: Alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone conditioned suppression of a lipopolysaccharide-induced fever.
abstract: Recent investigations have demonstrated the susceptibility of various components of the immune system to behavioral conditioning, using a conditioned taste aversion (CTA) paradigm. In Experiment 1 the effective antipyretic dose (40 micrograms/kg) and duration of antipyretic action (up to 4 hr) of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH) was determined in rats tested with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). In the second experiment, alpha-MSH was used as the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) and paired with a novel-tasting saccharin solution (0.1%) to elicit a conditioned antipyretic response to a fever induced one hour previously by LPS. Both the antipyretic effect of alpha-MSH and the pyrogenic effect of LPS were found to be significantly conditionable. The conditioning of fever/antipyretic responses demonstrates for the first time that still another aspect of the host response can be influenced by conditioning procedures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: D F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Bull
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: King
authors.forename: H P
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Pfister
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Singer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001241:Aspirin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001362:Avoidance Learning; D001833:Body Temperature Regulation / Q000187:drug effects*; D003214:Conditioning, Classical; D005334:Fever / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000633:toxicity*; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012439:Saccharin; D013047:Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms; D013649:Taste; D000521:alpha-MSH / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D000521:alpha-MSH; D012439:Saccharin; D001241:Aspirin