en Substance abuse, dependence, addiction پژوهشي Research Article <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="font-family:Tahoma;"><span style="line-height:normal"><b><span lang="FR"><span style="color:black">Background and Objective: </span></span></b><span lang="FR">Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a reproductive disorder that causes infertility. Morphine, when injected into the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH), is effective in inducing PCO, but the mechanism of this effect, particularly concerning dopamine (DA), remains unclear. The study aims to understand how DA and its receptors contribute to this disruption<span style="color:black">.</span></span></span><br> <span style="line-height:normal"><b><span lang="FR">Materials and Methods: </span></b><span lang="FR"><span style="letter-spacing:.2pt">Virgin animals weighing 220-250 g and aged 8-9 weeks were randomly divided into control, morphine alone, sulpiride alone, and sulpiride + morphine groups that received sulpiride before an effective dose of morphine. Morphine (0.1-0.4 </span></span><span lang="FR"><span style="letter-spacing:.2pt">&mu;</span></span><span lang="FR"><span style="letter-spacing:.2pt">g/rat) was injected into the VMH (AP coordinates: -1.92; ventral: 9 mm; lateral: 0.5 mm). Sulpiride (0.1-0.4 </span></span><span lang="FR"><span style="letter-spacing:.2pt">&mu;</span></span><span lang="FR"><span style="letter-spacing:.2pt">g/rat) was injected intra-VMH alone or before morphine (0.4 </span></span><span lang="FR"><span style="letter-spacing:.2pt">&mu;</span></span><span lang="FR"><span style="letter-spacing:.2pt">g/rat, intra-VMH). The control group received saline merely (1 </span></span><span lang="FR"><span style="letter-spacing:.2pt">&mu;</span></span><span lang="FR"><span style="letter-spacing:.2pt">L/rat, intra-VMH). The animals were anesthetized three days later, and after surgery, the ovaries, uterus, and brain were collected and examined in 10% formalin. All data were statistically analyzed</span></span><span lang="FR">. <span style="font-family:Optima"></span></span></span><br> <span style="line-height:normal"><b><span lang="FR">Results:</span></b><span lang="FR"> Ovaries of rats treated with morphine and not in the sulpiride single groups showed PCO features compared to the control group; however, the number of cysts was significantly reduced in the sulpiride + morphine samples. Morphine and sulpiride did not significantly induce uterine inflammation. Moreover, no significant effect on VMH neurons was observed in any of the groups.</span></span><br> <span style="line-height:normal"><b><span lang="FR">Conclusion:</span></b> <span lang="FR">These results indicate that morphine disrupts follicular growth and that this effect is partially reversed by blocking DA type 2 receptor signaling.</span></span></span></span></div> Dopamine, Morphine, Polycystic ovary, Rat, Ventromedial hypothalamus 173 180 http://ajnpp.umsha.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-662-2&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Samaneh Afraz nazanin.afraz@gmail.com 10031947532846008025 0009-0002-4162-2941 No Department of Biology, Faculty of Basic Sciences, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran Manizheh Karami karami@shahed.ac.ir 10031947532846008026 10031947532846008026 Yes Department of Biology, Faculty of Basic Sciences, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran Manizheh Karami karami@shahed.ac.ir 10031947532846008027 10031947532846008027 No Neurophysiology Research Renter, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran