N-Methyl-d-Aspartate Receptor Agonism and Antagonism Within the Amygdaloid Central Nucleus Suppresses Pain Affect: Differential Contribution of the Ventrolateral Periaqueductal Gray

Prompted by recent evidence of neural circuitry in rodent models, functional magnetic resonance imaging and functional connectivity analyses were conducted for a large adolescent population at two ages, together with alcohol abuse measures, to characterize a neural network that may underlie the onset of alcoholism. A network centered on the medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC), as well as including the dorsal periaqueductal gray (dPAG), central nucleus of the amygdala, and nucleus accumbens, was identified, consistent with the rodent models, with evidence of both inhibitory and excitatory coregulation by the mOFC over the dPAG. Furthermore, significant relationships were detected between raised baseline excitatory coregulation in this network and impulsivity measures, supporting a role for negative urgency in alcohol dependence.

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Antinociceptive effect of calcitonin gene-related peptide in the central nucleus of amygdala: activating opioid receptors through amygdala–periaqueductal gray pathway

Neuroscience ◽

10.1016/s0306-4522(03)00069-1 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 118 (4) ◽

pp. 1015-1022 ◽

Cited By ~ 37

Author(s):

W Xu ◽

T Lundeberg ◽

Y.T Wang ◽

Y Li ◽

L.-C Yu

Keyword(s):

Opioid Receptors ◽

Antinociceptive Effect ◽

Periaqueductal Gray ◽

Calcitonin Gene Related Peptide ◽

Central Nucleus ◽

Related Peptide ◽

Calcitonin Gene

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Involvement of the Periaqueductal Gray in the Descending Antinociceptive Effect Induced by the Central Nucleus of Amygdala

Physiological Research ◽

10.33549/physiolres.933699 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 647-655 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

N. BOURBIA ◽

A. PERTOVAARA

Keyword(s):

Nmda Receptor ◽

Nmda Receptors ◽

Receptor Antagonist ◽

Local Anesthesia ◽

Electrophysiological Study ◽

Antinociceptive Effect ◽

Nmda Receptor Antagonist ◽

Periaqueductal Gray ◽

Central Nucleus ◽

High Dose

Here we studied whether descending control of mechanical nociception by glutamate in the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) of healthy control animals is induced by amygdaloid NMDA receptors and relayed through the midbrain periaqueductal gray (PAG). Mechanical nociception in the hind paws was assessed in rats with chronic guide cannulae for glutamate administration in the right CeA and for inducing local anesthesia in the PAG. In a separate electrophysiological study, ON-like PAG neurons giving an excitatory response to noxious pinch of the tail were recorded in anesthetized rats following glutamate administration into the CeA. A high dose of glutamate (100 μg) in the CeA induced mechanical antinociception in the contra- but not ipsilateral hind limb. Antinociception was prevented by an NMDA receptor antagonist in the CeA or local anesthesia of the PAG. Discharge rate of ON-like PAG neurons was increased by a high dose of glutamate (100 μg) in the CeA and this increase was prevented by an NMDA receptor antagonist in the CeA. The results indicate that amygdaloid NMDA receptors in the CeA may induce contralaterally mechanical antinociception through a circuitry relaying in the PAG. Activation of ON-like PAG neurons is associated with the descending antinociceptive effect. Mechanisms and causality of this association still remain to be studied.

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