Impact of Methadone and Morphine on Mental Activity and Gfap Expression in Male Norway Rat

Backgrounds: Methadone and morphine are frequently used as pain relievers. Although theycan be used to substitute opioids such as heroin, they can be addictive. Abuse of these substancesmight lead to memory loss and anxiety.Materials and Methods: ۳۶ male rats weighing between ۲۰۰ gr were divided into ۶ groups.Each group contained ۶ rats. The first group received no medicine. The second group receivednormal saline and consider as a positive control. The third group received methadone in highdosage, the fourth group received a low dosage of methadone. The fifth group received morphinein high dosage and the last group received morphine in low dosage for ۳۰ days subcutaneously.After treatment, shuttle box and Plus Maze tests were used to evaluate brain activity and anxiety.Rats were sacrificed after being anesthetized with xylocaine and ketamine injection. The Gfapgene expression was evaluated after the hippocampus was harvested. Total RNA was extracted,cDNA was synthesized, and the expression level was determined using the RT-qPCR method.Results: Behaviour evaluation revealed a sizable reduction in brain activity and elevated anxietyin all groups in comparison with control groups. The groups who were treated with methadoneand morphine in high dosage showed a severe condition. Gene evaluation discovered identicalresults and it is demonstrated Gfap expression reduced in methadone and morphine consumergroups.Conclusion: Taking methadone and morphine even at low doses can disrupt basic mentalmechanics. One of the outcomes of methadone and morphine is a reduction in brain activity andincreased tension even though reduction of Gfap expression. Gfap is a class-III intermediatefilament and acts throughout the development of the central nervous system and distinguishesastrocytes from other glial cells. This study discovered that methadone and morphineconsumption can disrupt Gfap expression and cause mental disorders.

کلیدواژه ها:

Methadone ، Morphine ، Gfap