Abstract
Morphine enhances the release of adenosine and its metabolites from the rat cerebral cortex and inhibits the release of acetylcholine. Naloxone antagonizes the effects of morphine on both purine and acetylcholine release. The adenosine antagonists, caffeine and theophylline, reduce morphine's effects on acetylcholine release, and at the same time increase the spontaneous release of acetylcholine. It is suggested that morphine, acting at a naloxone-sensitive site, enhances the level of extracellular adenosine, which in turn inhibits the release of acetylcholine, and that some of morphine's actions are mediated by a purinergic step.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 421-427 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior |
Volume | 13 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1980 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Acetylcholine
- Adenosine
- Caffeine
- Cerebral cortex
- Morphine
- Release
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biochemistry
- Toxicology
- Pharmacology
- Clinical Biochemistry
- Biological Psychiatry
- Behavioral Neuroscience