The antinociceptive effects of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) in the rat.

The antinociceptive effects of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) in the rat.

Crisp T; Stafinsky J L; Boja J W; Schechter M D

Pharmacology, biochemistry, and behavior

1989

1989-11

The antinociceptive effects of MDMA and morphine were examined in rats using the tail-flick and hot-plate analgesiometric tests. MDMA, in the dose range of 1.5-6.0 mg/kg IP, produced a dose-dependent elevation in hot-plate latency, but did not elevate tail-flick latency. In contrast, morphine (2-8 mg/kg, IP) produced analgesia on both the tail-flick and hot-plate tests in a dose-dependent manner. Neither the opiate antagonist naltrexone nor the adrenoceptor antagonist phentolamine effectively attenuated MDMA-induced analgesia. Conversely, the serotonin antagonist methysergide significantly reversed the analgesic effects of MDMA on the hot-plate test. These findings suggest that the antinociceptive effects of MDMA are serotonergically mediated. Furthermore, the results verify earlier findings describing the test-specific effects of serotonin-induced pain modulation.

Male; Animals; Rats; Analgesics/*pharmacology; Methysergide/pharmacology; Naltrexone/pharmacology; Amphetamines/*pharmacology; Pain/*metabolism; Morphine/pharmacology; Dose-Response Relationship; Drug; Inbred Strains; Receptors; 3; N-Methyl-3; 4-methylenedioxyamphetamine; 4-Methylenedioxyamphetamine/analogs & derivatives/*pharmacology; Serotonin/drug effects/*physiology

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497–501

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