Effects of morphine on the 6-hydroxydopamine induced changes of the postnatal development of central noradrenaline neurons.

Neonatal treatment with the catecholamine neurotoxin 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OH-DA) leads to permanent noradrenaline (NA) denervations of distant projections (e.g. in the neocortex) with a concomitant NA hyperinnervation in regions close to the perikarya (e.g. in the cerebellum) a "pruning effect' mainly affecting the locus coeruleus NA neuron system. Morphine administration after 6-OH-DA produced a significant potentiation of the 6-OH-DA-induced NA depletion in the olfactory bulb, spinal cord, frontal and occipital cortex, with a tendency for NA to increase in the mesencephalon, pons-medulla and cerebellum, when analysed in the adult stage. Morphine treatment alone had no effects on the NA levels in any region studied. Morphine was found to counteract the NA depletion induced by tyrosine hydroxylase inhibition in neonate rats, indicating that morphine reduces NA turnover. The present results are compatible with the view that morphine potentiates the 6-OH-DA-induced degeneration of NA nerve terminals, possibly related to the inhibitory action on NA neurons.