Alterations in nociceptive threshold and morphine-induced analgesia produced by intrathecally administered amine antagonists.

Intrathecal administration of either methysergide or phentolamine hyperalgesia. This suggests that tonically active serotonergic and noradrenergic neuronal systems modulate sensitivity to nociceptive stimuli at the level of the spinal cord. Methysergide did not attenuate the analgesia induced by either 2.0 or 7.5 mg/kg morphine (s.c.), while phentolamine attenuated the analgesia induced by 2.0, but not 7.5 mg/kg morphine. These findings suggest that bulbospinal serotonergic neurons are not integral components of the neuronal circuitry which mediates opiate-induced analgesia. Noradrenergic neurons, however, appear to mediate a portion of such analgesia.