The Role of Opioidergic Systems in Breathing Based Analgesia

The Role of Endogenous Opioidergic Systems in Breathing Based Analgesia

The purpose of this psychophysical and pharmacologic study is to determine if slow-breathing induced pain relief is mediated by endogenous opioids in response to intravenous (IV) administration of the opioid antagonist naloxone during noxious heat stimulation. We were also interested in disentangling the endogenous analgesic mechanisms supporting mindfulness-based analgesia.

The proposed study will employ a graded analytical approach to compare mindfulness to placebo-meditation and a slow-breathing exercise in response to double-blind intravenous administration (IV) of naloxone/placebo-saline and noxious heat stimulation. The aim of this study is to determine if slow-breathing induced analgesia is associated with the release of endogenous opioids. The proposed study will disentangle the specific stage of cognitive and/or respiration-based involvement (if any) of opioidergically mediated pain relief, a critical step in identifying the specific analgesic mechanisms corresponding to mindfulness based cognitive techniques.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Normal volunteers with no history of chronic pain problems
• Volunteers had no prior meditation experience
• Volunteers could be male and non-pregnant females.
• Volunteers of all ethnic backgrounds were included.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Female volunteers could not be pregnant.
• They could not be taking opioids or antidepressants.
• Subjects with a repeated history of syncope, loss of consciousness, light headedness, nausea, dizziness, or vomiting in response to needles or blood could not participate in the study.
• Subject could not be using exogenous opiates for the complete duration of the study.