1982 Volume 32 Issue 5 Pages 767-774
Effects of 7-ethoxycarbonyl-6, 8-dimethyl-4-hydroxymethyl-1(2H)-phthalazinone (EG626) on the spinal trigeminal nucleus (STN), ventral posteromedial nucleus (VPM), and sensory cortex were examined in cats anesthetized with alpha-chloralose in comparison with the effects of morphine. EG626 produced a dose-dependent inhibition of the polysynaptic components of the cortical field potentials upon VPM stimulation and either facilitatory or inhibitory effects on the polysynaptic components of the VPM field potential upon stimulation of the medial lemniscus, while the drug failed to affect the STN field potential with trigeminal nerve stimulation. Morphine inhibited the postsynaptic components of the STN field potentials and to a lesser extent, the polysynaptic components of the cortical field potential; and the effects of morphine on the VPM field potential were similar to those seen with EG626. Pretreatment of the animal with naloxone antagonized the facilitatory effect on the VPM field potentials produced by morphine, but not those by EG626. Morphine and EG626 induced either a prolonged increase in the blood flow or transient increase followed by a decrease in the blood flow in the VPM. These results suggest that EG626 may impair the polysynaptic transmission and/or neuron excitability in the sensory cortex and the VPM at least partly due to the change in blood flow there as does morphine. Unlike morphine, however, EG626 did not produce any obvious effect on the STN.
