The Effect of Phenobarbital on Creating Dependency of Morphine in Mature Mice Using the Conditioned Place Preference Method

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Morphine as an addictive drug, increases the brain dopaminergic activity and creates a heavy reliance on the consumer. Due to an interaction between the dopaminergic neurons and the GABAergic neurons in the brain, the current study was aimed to the evaluate the efficacy of Phenobarbital on Creating Dependency of Morphine in Mature Mice Using the Conditioned Place Preference (CPP) Method. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, 56 male mature mice with the weight of 30-35 grams were divided into three groups: the experimental, sham and control groups. The experimental group included 5 subgroups treated with: 1) either morphine, 2) Phenobarbital with dose of minimum, 3) Phenobarbital with dose of maximum, 4) morphine+ Phenobarbital with dose of minimum, and 5) morphine+ Phenobarbital with dose of maximum. Morphine was used for causing the dependency and CCP method was used to estimate the dependency. Results: There was no significant differences between the control and the sham groups and also between the control and Phenobarbital groups in preferring a special location to receive the drug. However, there was a significant difference between the control and the Phenobarbital with dose of maximum and morphine groups in preferring a location to receive morphine, and no significant attenuation was observed in the Phenobarbital with dose of minimum and maximum morphine groups in preferring the location for receiving the drug compared with the group receiving morphine alone. Conclusion: The phenobarbital as the GABA receptors agonist through an interaction with dopaminergic pathways influence the CPP induced by morphine.

Keywords: Morphine dependency, Phenobarbital, CPP method