QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

HOME  |   SEARCH  |   ARCHIVE  |   SUBSCRIBE  |   CONTACT  |   HELP

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit an eLetter Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Web of Science (31) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Manning, B. H. Articles by Amaral, D. G. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Manning, B. H. Articles by Amaral, D. G.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

The Journal of Neuroscience, October 15, 2001, 21(20):8238-8246

Reduction in Opioid- and Cannabinoid-Induced Antinociception in Rhesus Monkeys after Bilateral Lesions of the Amygdaloid Complex

Barton H. Manning¹, Noah M. Merin², Ian D. Meng³, and David G. Amaral²

¹ Department of Neuroscience, Merck Research Laboratories, Merck & Company, West Point, Pennsylvania 19486-0004, ² Department of Psychiatry and Center for Neuroscience, University of California, Davis, Davis, California 95616, and ³ Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94143-0453

The amygdaloid complex is a prominent temporal lobe region that is associated with "emotional" information processing. Studies in the rodent have also recently implicated the amygdala in the processing and modulation of pain sensation, the experience of which involves a considerable emotional component in humans. In the present study, we sought to establish the relevance of the amygdala to pain modulation in humans by investigating the contribution of this region to antinociceptive processes in nonhuman primates. Using magnetic resonance imaging guidance, the amygdaloid complex was lesioned bilaterally in six rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) through microinjection of the neurotoxin ibotenic acid. This procedure resulted in substantial neuronal cell loss in all nuclear subdivisions of this structure. In awake unoperated control monkeys, systemic administration of the prototypical opioid morphine or the cannabinoid receptor agonist WIN55,212-2 produced dose-dependent antinociception on a warm-water tail-withdrawal assay. The antinociceptive effects of each drug were reversible with an appropriate antagonist. In monkeys with bilateral amygdala lesions, however, the antinociceptive effects of each drug were significantly reduced. These results constitute the first causal data demonstrating the necessity of neurons in a specific brain region for the full expression of opioid- and cannabinoid-induced antinociception in the primate. Because our amygdala-lesioned monkeys exhibited both a reduction in antinociception and a reduction in behavioral indices of fear (Emery et al., 2001), the possibility should be considered that, in the primate, "antinociceptive circuitry" and "fear circuitry" overlap at the level of the amygdala.

Key words: pain; analgesia; antinociception; opiate; opioid; morphine; cannabinoid; WIN55,212-2; amygdala; amygdaloid complex; lesion; ibotenic acid; fear

---

Copyright © 2001 Society for Neuroscience  0270-6474/01/21208238-09$05.00/0

This article has been cited by other articles:

				R. D. Hosking and J. P. Zajicek Therapeutic potential of cannabis in pain medicine Br. J. Anaesth., July 1, 2008; 101(1): 59 - 68. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. C. Azad, J. Kurz, G. Marsicano, B. Lutz, W. Zieglgansberger, and G. Rammes Activation of CB1 specifically located on GABAergic interneurons inhibits LTD in the lateral amygdala Learn. Mem., March 5, 2008; 15(3): 143 - 152. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Y. Carrasquillo and R. W. Gereau IV Activation of the Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase in the Amygdala Modulates Pain Perception J. Neurosci., February 14, 2007; 27(7): 1543 - 1551. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. C. Azad, K. Monory, G. Marsicano, B. F. Cravatt, B. Lutz, W. Zieglgansberger, and G. Rammes Circuitry for Associative Plasticity in the Amygdala Involves Endocannabinoid Signaling J. Neurosci., November 3, 2004; 24(44): 9953 - 9961. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. S. L. Faber and P. Sah Opioids Inhibit Lateral Amygdala Pyramidal Neurons by Enhancing a Dendritic Potassium Current J. Neurosci., March 24, 2004; 24(12): 3031 - 3039. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. F. FREUND, I. KATONA, and D. PIOMELLI Role of Endogenous Cannabinoids in Synaptic Signaling Physiol Rev, July 1, 2003; 83(3): 1017 - 1066. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. C. Azad, M. Eder, G. Marsicano, B. Lutz, W. Zieglgansberger, and G. Rammes Activation of the Cannabinoid Receptor Type 1 Decreases Glutamatergic and GABAergic Synaptic Transmission in the Lateral Amygdala of the Mouse Learn. Mem., March 1, 2003; 10(2): 116 - 128. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				V. Neugebauer, W. Li, G. C. Bird, G. Bhave, and R. W. Gereau IV Synaptic Plasticity in the Amygdala in a Model of Arthritic Pain: Differential Roles of Metabotropic Glutamate Receptors 1 and 5 J. Neurosci., January 1, 2003; 23(1): 52 - 63. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home  |   Search  |   Archive  |   Subscribe  |   Contact  |   Help