Antinociceptive Response to Nitrous Oxide Is Mediated by Supraspinal Opiate and Spinal α2Adrenergic Receptors in the Rat

Abstract

These data suggest that both supraspinal opiate and spinal alpha 2 adrenoceptors play a mediating role in the antinociceptive response to N2O in rats. A possible mechanism may involve a descending inhibitory noradrenergic pathway that may be activated by opiate receptors in the periaqueductal gray region of the brain stem in the rat after exposure to N2O.