REPEATED NALOXONE TREATMENTS AND EXPOSURES TO WEAK 60-HZ MAGNETIC-FIELDS HAVE ANALGESIC EFFECTS IN SNAILS

Results of studies with rodents have shown that animals repeatedly injected with the opioid antagonist, naloxone, acquire a hypoalgesic response to thermal nociceptive stimuli. The present study revealed a similar response in the terrestrial pulmonate snail, Cepaea nemoralis, Snails daily injections of naloxone followed by measurements of thermal nociceptive sensitivity also developed hypoalgesia. Daily brief (30-min) exposures to a weak 60-Hz magnetic field (1.0 gauss or 0.1 mT), which acutely antagonize opioid-mediated nociception and antinociception in a manner comparable to that of naloxone, also led to the expression of a hypoalgesic responses. This suggests that opioid antagonist-induced thermal hypoalgesia may be a basic feature of opioid systems. This naloxone- and magnetic field-induced 'analgesia' is consistent with either a facilitation of aversive thermal conditioning and or antagonism of the excitatory, hyperalgesic effects of low levels of endogenous opioids.