Roya Zamani - Department of Biology, Faculty of science, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran
Saeed Semnanian - Departments of Medical Physiology, Tarbiat Modaress University

One relatively recent technological advance for measuring blood flow is the development of Laser-Doppler flowmetry in which reflected laser light is used to determine changes in blood flow. This technique has a temporal resolution in the order of milliseconds, a variable spatial resolution(depending upon the width of the probe used), and collects flow data to a depth approximately 1 mm below the cortical surface. We used this technique to study cerebral cortical blood flow responses to morphine and naloxone in morphine-naive and –dependent rats. Significant decreases in cerebral blood flow were noted 10-15 min after administration of 10 mg/kg of morphine in control and sham-operated animals (P<0.05). Our results are generally consistent with prior observations using both PET and LDF.

Laser-Doppler flowmetry, cerebral cortical blood flow