ISSN:
1432-2072
Keywords:
OTC stimulants
;
Cocaine
;
Amphetamine
;
Drug discrimination
;
Drug mixtures
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
Abstract Ninety-six male Sprague-Dawley rats were trained in one of seven drug versus saline (SAL) discrimination (DD) tasks under a variable-ratio 5–15 schedule of food-motivated lever press responding. Three groups of rats (n=12/group) were trained to discriminate between one of the legal over-the-counter (OTC) stimulants — caffeine (CAF), ephedrine (EPHED), phenylpropanolamine (PPA), and SAL. Three other groups (n=2/group) were trained to discriminate between one of three binary stimulant combinations — CAF + EPHED, CAF + PPA, EPHED + PPA, and SAL. The seventh group of rats (n=24) was trained to discriminate between SAL and a ternary combination of the OCT stimulants, CAF + EPHED + PPA. Generalization tests were conducted with each of the OTC stimulants and the controlled stimulants — amphetamine (AMPHET) and cocaine (COC). The data suggest: 1) there is cross-generalization between some OTC combinations and controlled stimulants; 2) full generalization between the OTC and controlled stimulants were demonstrated in rats trained to discriminate two of the binary stimulant combinations from SAL; 3) drug mixtures are not perceived as new entities distinct from their component elements; 4) training dose-ratio may influence the characteristics of mixture discriminations; 5) stimulus overshadowing may be a factor determining drug mixture cues, and 6) the DD properties of aggregate drug compounds may function within a euclidean metric space. We propose that some binary OTC stimulant combinations may effectively function as a methadone-like replacement therapy in cocaine dependence.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02251286
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