Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
4
pubmed:dateCreated
1998-6-26
pubmed:abstractText
The fact that centrally acting analgesics have abuse potential commensurate with their analgesic activity raises the question of whether these effects are related. The abuse potential of drugs depends on their ability to produce reinforcing effects, which are mediated by a neural system that includes the ventral tegmental dopamine cells and their connections with the ventral striatum. Morphine and amphetamine are both powerful analgesics and have high abuse potential. Their analgesic and reinforcing effects are mediated by similar receptors, similar sites of action, and overlapping neural substrates. These coincidences suggest that reinforcers may produce analgesia by transforming the aversive affective state evoked by pain into a more positive affective state. The implications of this hypothesis and its relation to other known mechanisms of analgesia are discussed. The hypothesis predicts that drugs with reinforcing effects should produce analgesia. A survey of drugs acting through 21 classes of receptors reveals that in 13 classes there is evidence for both analgesic and reinforcing effects that are approximately equipotent. The GABA(A) agonists were found to be the only drugs with confirmed abuse potential that lack analgesic activity. The interpretation of this and several other anomalous cases is discussed.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Apr
pubmed:issn
0091-3057
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
59
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
993-1002
pubmed:dateRevised
2004-11-17
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1998
pubmed:articleTitle
Analgesia and abuse potential: an accidental association or a common substrate?
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Review