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Antinociceptive effect of spinally administered cannabinergic and 2-adrenoceptor drugs on the formalin test in rat: possible interactions

Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Shaheed Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Bijan Shafaghi

Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Shaheed Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Nima Naderi

Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Shaheed Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Mohammad-Reza Zarrindast

Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine and Iranian Center for Addiction Studies, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran and School of Cognitive Science, Institute Studies in Theoretical Physics and Mathematics, Tehran, Iran zarinmr{at}ams.ac.ir

The current experiments were designed to study the antinociceptive effects of intrathecal (i.t.) administration of cannabinoid CB₁ receptor and 2-adrenoceptor drugs in the nociceptive processing and also their receptor interactions. Different doses of a cannabinoid receptor agonist, CP 55,940, and an 2-adrenoceptor agonist, clonidine induced a dose-dependent antinociception in both phases of the formalin test.

CP 55,940-induced antinociception was reduced by pretreatment of a selective cannabinoid CB₁ receptor antagonist, SR 141716A, but not by pretreatment with an 2-adrenoceptor antagonist, yohimbine in both phases of the test. However, yohimbine and SR 141716A attenuated the antinociception induced by clonidine in the early phase but not in the late phase of the test. While SR 141716A by itself did not influence pain behaviour, the reversal effect of clonidine by SR 141716A indicate that clonidine stimulate the release of endocannabinoid(s).

In conclusion, our findings may suggest that: (1) spinal cannabinoid and 2-adrenoceptor systems are able to induce antinociception in both phases of formalin test, and (2) the cannabinoid system may be involved in the antinociception induced by adrenoceptors in the early phase.

Key Words: cannabinoid receptor • 2-adrenoceptor • antinociception • intrathecal • drug interactions

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This version was published on January 1, 2006

Journal of Psychopharmacology, Vol. 20, No. 1, 67-74 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/0269881105056996


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This Article Abstract Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Khodayar, M. J. Articles by Zarrindast, M.-R. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Khodayar, M. J. Articles by Zarrindast, M.-R. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?