Rehal SK (2024) Investigating the role of the ventral anterior cingulate cortex (vacc) in placebo analgesia. Univ Toronto Thesis.
Objective: To examine whether opioid receptors in the ventral anterior cingulate cortex (vACC) were critical for the placebo response evoked by conditioning with 10 mg/kg morphine.
Summary: Significant differences were observed before and after injection of morphine for Dermorphin-SAP-treated mice throughout the conditioning days. At the same time, a percentage of anti-allodynia remained constant over the conditioning phase. Thus, mice displayed the analgesic effects of morphine during the conditioning phase. Additionally, microinjection of Dermorphin-SAP into the vACC did not influence pharmacological conditioning with morphine as there was no difference between either group during the conditioning phase. Selective ablation of mu opioid-expressing neurons in the vACC via Dermorphin-SAP led to a lack of placebo analgesia.
Usage: Bilateral injections were carried out at a rate of 50 nl/min of Dermorphin-SAP (IT-12) or 200 nl total injection volume of Blank-SAP control (IT-21).
Related Products: Dermorphin-SAP / MOR-SAP (Cat. #IT-12), Blank-SAP (Cat. #IT-21)