Administration of orexin receptor 1 antagonist into the rostral ventromedial medulla increased swim stress-induced antinociception in rat

Objective(s): Intracerebroventricular injection of orexin-A (hypocretin-1) antagonist has been shown to inhibit stress-induced analgesia. However the locations of central sites that may mediate these effects have not been totally demonstrated. This study was performed to investigate the role of rostral ventromedial medulla (RVM) orexin receptor 1 in stress-induced analgesia (SIA). Materials and Methods: Forced swim stress in water was employed to adult male rats (200-250 g). Nociceptive responses were measured by formalin test (50 µl injection of formalin 2% subcutaneously into hind paw) and, pain related behaviors were monitored for 90 min following intra-microinjection of SB-334867 (orexin receptor 1 antagonist) into RVM. Results: Exposure to swimming stress test after administration of SB-334867 into RVM significantly reduces the formalin-induced nociceptive behaviors in phase1, interphase, and phase 2 in rats. Conclusion: The result demonstrated the involvement of OXR1 in antinociceptive behaviors induced by swim stress in RVM.