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Optimal interval for hot water immersion tail-flick test in rats

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 November 2013

Quanhong Zhou ,
Yuhua Bao ,
Xin Zhang ,
Lulu Zeng ,
Li Wang ,
Jing Wang  and
Wei Jiang
Quanhong Zhou
Affiliation:
Department of Anesthesiology, Shanghai N0.6 People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China
Yuhua Bao
Affiliation:
Department of Anesthesiology, Shanghai N0.6 People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China
Xin Zhang
Affiliation:
Department of Anesthesiology, Shanghai N0.6 People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China
Lulu Zeng
Affiliation:
Department of Anesthesiology, Shanghai N0.6 People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China
Li Wang
Affiliation:
Department of Anesthesiology, Shanghai N0.6 People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China
Jing Wang
Affiliation:
Department of Anesthesiology, Shanghai N0.6 People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China
Wei Jiang*
Affiliation:
Department of Anesthesiology, Shanghai N0.6 People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China
*
Dr. Wei Jiang, Department of Anesthesiology, Shanghai N0.6 People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China. Tel: +0086 21 64369181 58328; Fax: +0086-21-64369181; E-mail: jiangw@sjtu.edu.cn
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Abstract

Background

The hot water tail-flick test is widely used to measure the degree of nociception experienced by laboratory animals. This study was carried out to optimise interval times for the hot water immersion tail-flick tests in rats.

Method

Ten different intervals from 10 s to 1 h were tested in 60 Sprague–Dawley male rats. At least eight rats were tested for each interval in three consecutive hot water tail-flick tests. Dixon's up-and-down method was also used to find the optimal intervals. The same rats were then divided into two groups. In Group N, naloxone was injected to reverse the prolonged latency times, whereas saline was used in the control Group S.

Results

Intervals of 10 s, 20 s, 30 min and 1 h did not significantly impact latencies, yielding similar results in three consecutive tests (p > 0.05). However, interval times of between 30 s and 20 min, inclusively, caused significantly prolonged latencies in the second and third tests (p < 0.001). Dixon's up-and-down method showed that 95% of the rats had prolonged latencies in hot water tail-flick tests at intervals longer than 32 s. Naloxone reversed prolonged latencies in Group N, whereas the latencies in Group S were further prolonged in 5 min interval tests.

Conclusion

The optimal intervals for hot water tail-flick tests are either shorter than 20 s or longer than 20 min. The prolonged latencies after repetitive tests were attributable to an endocrine opioid.

Keywords

acute stress-induced analgesiaintervalnaloxonetail-flick testtail skin temperature
Type
Original Articles
Information
Acta Neuropsychiatrica , Volume 26 , Issue 4 , August 2014 , pp. 218 - 222
Copyright
Copyright © Scandinavian College of Neuropsychopharmacology 2013 

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