Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Μ-Opioid Receptor Agonist Injections Into The Presumed Pre-Bötzinger Complex And The Surrounding Region Of Awake Goats Do Not Alter Eupneic Breathing, K. L. Krause, Suzanne E. Neumueller, B. D. Marshall, T. Kiner, Joshua M. Bonis, Lawrence Pan, B. Qian, Hubert V. Forster

Physical Therapy Faculty Research and Publications

Opioids are clinically important in the alleviation of pain. An undesirable side effect of opioids is depression of breathing. Data from isolated preparations suggest this effect is due to attenuation of discharge activity of neurons in the pre-Bötzinger complex (preBötzC), a medullary area with respiratory rhythmogenic properties. The purpose of this study was to examine how [d-Ala(2),N-Me-Phe(4),Gly(5)-ol]-enkephalin (DAMGO), a μ-opioid receptor agonist, affected breathing after injection into the presumed preBötzC of the adult awake goat. We hypothesized that DAMGO would cause breathing to decrease and become irregular when injected into the presumed preBötzC and the surrounding region of the conscious …