THE EFFECTS OF MAGNETIC FIELD ON MORPHINE WITHDRAWAL’S BEHAVIORAL SIGNS IN MOUSE.

Drug abuse and dependence have been focused by many physicians until now. Many approaches were used for cessation of withdrawal syndrome but pharmaceutical agents were used widely. Magnetic fields were used for treatment or decreasing some disorders such as pain. Some studies have shown that magnetic fields can affect behavioral and physiological functions. It has been used in alternative medicine for a long time.

Materials & Methods: Adult male mice were divided in two: a control group (n=6) and a magnetic field treated group (n=8). All mice were dependent to morphine by standard intraperitoneal injection procedure. The treated groups were taken in the magnetic field for 2 hours (0.07 mTpeak, 10 Hz) by being placed in a special cage. Morphine withdrawal syndrome precipitated by naloxone induction subcutaneously. Withdrawal syndrome signs registered every minute for 45 min for each mouse observationally. The studied signs included: restlessness, urination, defecation, diarrhea, jumping, ejaculation, shivering, and wet-dog shake.

Results: The treated mice with magnetic field did not show shivering and ejaculation but all of the control group showed signs of study. Diarrhea and defecation were seen in less number of the treated mice. The latency of beginning of urination and defecation were greater than the control group significantly but in the jumping and wet-dog shake there were no time difference for beginning of the behavior between two groups.

Conclusion: Morphine withdrawal syndrome signs are major factors to drug relapse and craving. The prevalence and initiation of these behaviors are very complex and integrative. Much therapeutics tries to decrease or abolish the signs but it seems that some different mechanisms are involved for such behaviors. Magnetic field can decrease some signs, so it hypothesizes that it may be used to challenge of drug dependence treatment.