title: Testosterone affects formalin-induced responses differently in male and female rats.
abstract: To evaluate the role of testosterone in pain modulation, we subcutaneously injected male and female rats with testosterone propionate (TP, 5 mg/kg in oil) or oil for 6 days; on the seventh day, all rats were subjected to the formalin test (10%, 50 microl). Behaviours were recorded in an open field (60 min). At the end of the formalin test, the rats were anaesthetized to collect blood from the abdominal aorta. Among the formalin-induced responses, licking was higher in females than males and was decreased by TP in females; jerking and flexing were only slightly affected by treatment. TP increased testosterone plasma levels in both sexes. These results indicate a role of testosterone in modulating formalin-induced responses. The effects appear to be different in males and females.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Section of Neuroscience and Applied Physiology, University of Siena, Via Aldo Moro, 53100 Siena, Italy. aloisi@unisi.it
authors.forename: Anna Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Aloisi
authors.forename: Ilaria
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ceccarelli
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fiorenzani
authors.forename: Anna Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: De Padova
authors.forename: Cosimo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Massafra
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006120:Grooming / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D010146:Pain / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000187:drug effects; D017288:Pain Threshold / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood* / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D013739:Testosterone