title: Diazepam dissociates the analgesic and aversive effects of periaqueductal gray stimulation in the rat.
abstract: Electrical stimulation of the periaqueductal gray matter (PAG) of the rat can produce both analgesia and aversive reactions. To determine if these two effects can be dissociated, diazepam, a benzodiazepine, was administered to rats chronically implanted with electrodes in the PAG. The threshold for stimulation-produced analgesia or aversion, whichever was lowest, was determined before and after drug administration. Diazepam (1 mg/kg) attenuated stimulation-produced aversive reactions at 12 of 20 stimulation sites, allowing analgesia to be measured at the same threshold. Diazepam did not alter baseline pain sensitivity or thresholds for stimulation-produced analgesia. These results indicate that aversive reactions and analgesia from PAG stimulation can be pharmacologically dissociated.
authors: Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles 90024.
authors: M M
authors: MM
authors: Morgan
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Depaulis
authors: J C
authors: JC
authors: Liebeskind
mesh_terms: D000698:Analgesia; D000818:Animals; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000187:drug effects*; D003975:Diazepam / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D008297:Male; D010487:Periaqueductal Gray / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains
chemical_list: D003975:Diazepam