Abstract
Pretreatment with alpha-methyl-p-tyrosine (AMPT) was found to block a conditioned taste aversion (C.T.A.) induced by injection of d-amphetamine sulphate (2.0 mg/kg per kg, i.p.) immediately after first access to 0.1% sodium saccharin. This finding implicates catecholaminergic systems in the induction of C.T.As by amphetamine, and suggests that the aversive properties of the drug are mediated by neurochemical systems which are similar to, or the same as, those which mediate the stimulant, anorectic and rewarding effects of the drug. The results refute a recent suggestion that the use of AMPT in the study of neurochemical mechanisms involved in drug induced taste aversions is precluded by the ability of AMPT itself to induce a C.T.A.; and illustrate an important distinction between pretreatment and post-treatment in taste aversion studies. The results provide further support for recent suggestions that the study of drug induced C.T.As may be of significance for an understanding of drug abuse.
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Goudie, A.J., Thornton, E.W. & Wheatley, J. Attenuation by alpha-methyltyrosine of amphetamine induced conditioned taste aversion in rats. Psychopharmacologia 45, 119–123 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00426220
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00426220