Effect of transient inactivation of rostral ventromedial medulla on swim stress induced analgesia in formalin test in rats

Despite significant progress in understanding pain control mechanism, there are numerous questions about central nervous mechanisms underlying stress-induced analgesia. The rostral ventromedial medulla (RVM) in the brainstem integrates a variety of functions, including pain modulation and pain perception. In the present study, we investigated the effect of temporary inactivation of RVM on stress-induced analgesia. This study was performed using adult male Wistar rats (200-250 gr). Swim stress was induced using a cylinder filled with water (50 cm height, 20±1°C) in which the rats were kept for 3 min. For induction of pain, 50 μL of 2% formalin was injected subcutaneously in the hind paw. For temporary inactivation of RVM, 0.5 μL of 2% lidocaine was injected into RVM. Injection of lidocaine into RVM, before inducing swim stress, potentiated the anti-nociceptive effects of swim stress in phase 1 and phase 2A. In phase 2B swim stresses increased nociceptive scores of formalin test; so administration of lidocaine into RVM inhibited the effect of swim stress. The result of this study demonstrated that temporal inactivation of RVM by lidocaine potentiated stress-induced analgesia.