Effects of midazolam and naloxone in rats tested for sensitivity/reactivity to formalin pain in a familiar, novel or aversively conditioned environment

Abstract

Rats tested for sensitivity/reactivity to formalin-induced pain in either an aversively conditioned or a novel environment displayed immediate but transient hypoalgesic responses that were insensitive to either a benzodiazepine (midazolam) or an opioid antagonist (naloxone). Exposure to the aversively conditioned, but not to the novel environment also provoked a more enduring hypoalgesic response that was abolished by either midazolam or naloxone. The results were taken to mean that fear is sufficient but not necessary for the production of hypoalgesic responses to environmental stimuli.