title: Ethological analysis of scopolamine treatment or pretreatment in morphine dependent rats.
abstract: Although scopolamine is currently used to treat morphine addiction in humans, its extensive actions on behaviors have not been systematically analyzed yet, and the underlying mechanisms of its effects still remain ambiguous. The present study was carried out to clarify the possible mechanisms by evaluating the effects of scopolamine pretreatment and treatment on naloxone-precipitated withdrawal signs and some of other general behaviors in morphine dependent rats. Our results showed that scopolamine pretreatment and treatment attenuated naloxone-precipitated withdrawal signs including jumping, writhing posture, weight loss, genital grooming, teeth-chattering, ptosis, diarrhea and irritability, except for wet dog shakes, while general behaviors such as water intake, urine volume and morphine excretion in urine were increased. Our findings suggest that scopolamine has significant actions in the treatment of opiate addiction, which might result from increasing morphine excretion from urine.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Environment and Genes Related to Diseases (Xi'an Jiaotong University), Ministry of Education, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, China. xiaohuixiang@163.com
authors.forename: Xiao-Hui
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Xiang
authors.forename: Hui-Ling
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Wei-Ran
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Dong-Yuan
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Hui-Sheng
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects; D001526:Behavioral Symptoms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004326:Drinking / Q000187:drug effects; D004347:Drug Interactions; D005010:Ethology / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D009020:Morphine / Q000633:toxicity*; D009021:Morphine Dependence / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D018727:Muscarinic Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D009270:Naloxone / Q000008:administration & dosage; D009292:Narcotic Antagonists / Q000008:administration & dosage; D009294:Narcotics / Q000633:toxicity*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012601:Scopolamine / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D018727:Muscarinic Antagonists; D009292:Narcotic Antagonists; D009294:Narcotics; D009270:Naloxone; D009020:Morphine; D012601:Scopolamine