Analgesic effect of oxytocin in alcohol-dependent male and female rats.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Chronic alcohol exposure in humans and rodents causes tolerance to the analgesic effects of alcohol, and enhances pain sensitivity during alcohol withdrawal (i.e., hyperalgesia). The available literature suggests a bidirectional enhancement between chronic alcohol consumption and chronic pain sensitivity. We previously found that oxytocin administration could reduce alcohol consumption in alcohol-dependent rats, and now hypothesize that oxytocin, through analgesic action in the central nervous system, could ameliorate the hyperalgesia induced by alcohol-dependence. To test this hypothesis, we assessed the ability of central and peripheral oxytocin administration to alter thermal (Hargreaves assay) and mechanical (Von Frey assay) pain sensitivity, in male and female rat

SUBMITTER: Marendes J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11875206 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature