title: Drosophila model for in vivo pharmacological analgesia research.
abstract: Fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) are typically used for genetic studies but they also could be employed for neuropharmacological research. Therefore, we designed an apparatus and developed methods to investigate how injecting antinociceptive drugs, i.e., a gamma-aminobutyric acid B receptor agonist, to adult flies affects their avoidance of noxious heat stimuli. We found a drug-induced dose-dependent increased threshold for heat avoidance and we propose Drosophila as an ethically acceptable animal model for in vivo pharmacological analgesia research.
authors.affiliation: The Psychiatric Institute, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1601 West Taylor St., M/C912, Chicago, IL 60612, USA. HManev@psych.uic.edu
authors.forename: Hari
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Manev
authors.forename: Nikola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Dimitrijevic
mesh_terms: D000698:Analgesia / Q000379:methods*; D000818:Animals; D001362:Avoidance Learning; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D058786:GABA-B Receptor Agonists; D009943:Organophosphorus Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000187:drug effects / Q000941:ethics / Q000379:methods; D018080:Receptors, GABA-B / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D058786:GABA-B Receptor Agonists; D009943:Organophosphorus Compounds; D018080:Receptors, GABA-B; C068457:3-aminopropyl(methyl)phosphinic acid