title: Inhibitory influences of the adrenal steroid, 3 alpha, 5 alpha-tetrahydrodeoxycorticosterone [correction of tetrahydroxycorticosterone] on aggression and defeat-induced analgesia in mice.
abstract: The effects of intraperitoneal administrations of the deoxycorticosterone metabolite, 5 alpha-pregnane-, 21 diol-20-one (3 alpha, 5 alpha-tetrahydrodeoxycorticosterone; alpha-THDOC) on the responses to aggression and defeat-induced analgesia were examined in subordinate intruder male mice in "resident-intruder" pairings. alpha-THDOC reduced in a dose-dependent mannter (1-20 mg/kg) the number of bites and time to obtain defeat in subordinate mice during the agonistic encounters, as well as attenuating defeat-induced analgesia. These inhibitory effects of alpha-THDOC were separate from its sedative actions at 20-30 mg/kg. In addition, the stereo-isomer, 3 beta-pregnane-3 alpha, 21 diol-20-one (20 mg/kg) had no significant effects on the agonistic encounters and defeat, indicating that the inhibitory effects of alpha-THDOC on agonistic interactions are stereospecific. Pretreatment with the benzodiazepine antagonist Ro 15-1788 (5 and 10 mg/kg) attenuated the inhibitory effects of alpha-THDOC on defeat-induced analgesia. Ro 15-1788 (5, 10 mg/kg) by itself, however, had minimal effects on these agonistic interactions and subsequent defeat-induced analgesia. These results indicate that the naturally occurring steroid, alpha-THDOC, has significant effects on responses to aggression and defeat-induced analgesia.
authors.affiliation: Pain Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kavaliers
mesh_terms: D000374:Aggression / Q000187:drug effects*; D000698:Analgesia; D000818:Animals; D003900:Desoxycorticosterone / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology; D005442:Flumazenil / Q000494:pharmacology; D007274:Injections, Intraperitoneal; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D013237:Stereoisomerism
chemical_list: D003900:Desoxycorticosterone; D005442:Flumazenil; C009413:tetrahydrodeoxycorticosterone