Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 1 of 1
Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network
Sex Differences In The Anatomical And Functional Organization Of The Periaqueductal Gray-Rostral Ventromedial Medullary Pathway In The Rat: A Potential Circuit Mediating The Sexually Dimorphic Actions Of Morphine, Dayna R. Loyd, Anne Z. Murphy Phd
Sex Differences In The Anatomical And Functional Organization Of The Periaqueductal Gray-Rostral Ventromedial Medullary Pathway In The Rat: A Potential Circuit Mediating The Sexually Dimorphic Actions Of Morphine, Dayna R. Loyd, Anne Z. Murphy Phd
Neuroscience Institute Faculty Publications
Previous studies have demonstrated that morphine, administered systemically or directly into the PAG, produces a significantly greater degree of antinociception in males in comparison to females. As the midbrain periaqueductal gray (PAG) and its descending projections to the rostral ventromedial medulla (RVM) constitute an essential neural circuit for opioid-based analgesia, the present studies were conducted to determine if sex differences in the anatomical organization of the PAG-RVM pathway, and its activation during persistent inflammatory pain, could account for sex-based differences in opioid analgesia. In the rat, retrograde tracing was combined with Fos immunocytochemistry to investigate sexual dimorphism in the organization …