Acute morphine treatment and morphine tolerance/dependence alter immunoreactive oxytocin levels in the mouse hippocampus.
Immunoreactive oxytocin levels were measured in the mouse hippocampal tissue (h-OXT). Acute morphine treatment increased h-OXT, which effect was reversed by naloxone. In mice rendered tolerant to and dependent on morphine h-OXT was lower than in placebo pellet-implanted control mice. In the tolerant/dependent animals naloxone resulted in precipitated withdrawal syndrome which was associated with a slight increase in h-OXT. The data indicate that h-OXT is affected by acute morphine treatment and by morphine tolerance/dependence and raises the possibility that h-OXT participates in the adaptive response of the organism towards narcotic drugs.
D000818:Animals; D004361:Drug Tolerance; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D009020:Morphine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009270:Naloxone / Q000494:pharmacology; D010121:Oxytocin / Q000378:metabolism*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000378:metabolism*
D009270:Naloxone; D010121:Oxytocin; D009020:Morphine