Brain lesions attenuating “wet shake” behavior in morphine-abstinent rats

Transverse brain lesions, made bilaterally with an iridectomy knife in anesthetized morphine-dependent rats, completely inhibited the wet shake response to naloxone when the transection was made at the mid-collicular level.

Abstract

Naloxone precipitates repetitive shaking movements in morphine-dependent rats. This response, termed "wet shakes", is still present in dependent animals anesthetized with sodium pentobarbital. Transverse brain lesions, made bilaterally with an iridectomy knife in anesthetized morphine-dependent rats, completely inhibited the wet shake response to naloxone when the transection was made at the mid-collicular level. Lesions anterior to the fasciculus retroflexus did not significantly affect the wet shake response.