Do Opioid Peptides Mediate a Presynaptic Control of C-fibre Transmission in the Rat Spinal Cord?

A presynaptic inhibitory role for opioid peptides in the control of C-fibre-evoked activity in the dorsal horn has been investigated. The excitability of C-fibre terminals in the dorsal horn of decerebrate spinal rats was tested using intraspinal terminal stimulation and recording the size of the antidromic C wave from the dorsal roots. Naloxone (1-2 mg/kg) failed to alter the baseline terminal excitability of the C-fibres, but reduced the increase in terminal excitability produced by A-fibre afferent conditioning stimuli. The inhibition of postsynaptic C-evoked activity in lamina 5 cells produced by A-afferent fibre conditioning stimuli was also reduced by naloxone. This effect may reflect the reversal of an opioid-mediated presynaptic inhibition, although blockade of a direct postsynaptic inhibitory action could also be involved.