EVIDENCE FOR ACTIVATION OF ENDOGENOUS OPIOID SYSTEMS IN MICE FOLLOWING SHORT EXPOSURE TO STABLE FLIES

Biting flies influence both physiology and behaviour of domestic and wild animals. This study demonstrates that brief (30 min) exposure of male and female mice to stable flies leads to significant increases in nociceptive responses, indicative of the induction of analgesia. The biting fly-induced analgesia was mediated by endogenous opioid systems as it was blocked by the prototypic opiate antagonist naloxone. Exposure for 30 min to the bedding of biting fly-exposed mice also induced significant opioid mediated analgesic responses in mice. Exposure to either house flies or the bedding of house fly-exposed mice had no significant effects on nociception. These results indicate that brief exposure to either stable flies, or to olfactory cues associated with mice exposed to stable flies, activates endogenous opioid systems leading to the induction of analgesia and likely other opioid mediated behavioural and physiological stress responses. These results suggest the involvement of endogenous opioid systems in the mediation of the behavioural and physiological consequences of biting fly exposure in domestic and wild animals.