INTERACTION BETWEEN OREXIN AND OPIOIDS SYSTEMS OF THE STRUCTURES OF PARAAMYGDALAR COMPLEX IN THE REINFORCING EFFECTS OF SPONTANEOUS AND ACTIVATED SELF-STIMULATION OF THE LATERAL HYPOTHALAMUS

Abstract

Male Wistar rats were implanted bipolar electrodes into the lateral hypothalamus to study self-stimulation reaction in the Skinner box and microcannulas into the right lateral ventricle and structutes of the paraamygdalar complex (bed nucleus of stria terminalis, central nucleus of amygdala or nucleus accumbens) to study central effects of orexin (5 µg in 5 µl i. v. for an injection) on the reinforcing properties of pharmacological drugs. Intraperitoneal administration of trimeperidine (3 mg/kg), a synthetic opioid, was shown to increase self-stimulation of the lateral hypothalamus in the Skinner box (number of pedal pressings for 10 min) by 51.8%, and sulpiride (5 mg/kg, a small dose), an antagonist of D2 dopamine receptors, did not change but in the large dose (20 mg/kg) decreased self-stimulation by 49.3% (a number of pedal pressings, or self-stimulation frequency within 10 min). At the same time, SB-408124, an antagonist of OX1R receptors and its combination with orexin did not change self-stimulation indexes after intrastructural administration into the bed nucleus of stria terminalis, central nucleus of amygdala or nucleus accumbens. On the background of blockade of OX1R receptors by SB-408124 (1 µg for all structures) trimeperidine reduced their activating action on self-stimulation reaction. Sulpiride (5 mg/kg i. p., a dose not affecting self-stimulation reaction) blocked activating action of trimeperidine after blockade OX1R receptors by SB-408124 (1 µg). The data obtained can suggest that OX1R receptors participate in the reinforcing effects of synthetic opioid trimeperidine and the blockade of them by SB-408124 potentiate antagonist effects of sulpiride on self-stimulation (4 tables, bibliography: 23 refs).