Ethanol-like discriminative stimulus effects of the neurosteroid 3 alpha-hydroxy-5 alpha-pregnan-20-one in female Macaca fascicularis monkeys.

The present study was designed to characterize the discriminative stimulus effects of ethanol and the neurosteroid 3 alpha-hydroxy-5 alpha-pregnan-20-one (allopregnanolone) in non-human primates. Female cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) were trained in a two-lever procedure to discriminate 1.0 g/kg ethanol (IG, 30 min pretreatment) from water using food reinforcement. Consistent with previous results in a variety of species, pentobarbital (0.56-17 mg/kg, IG) resulted in a dose-dependent substitution for the discriminative stimulus effects of ethanol, with an average ED50 value of 1.9 mg/kg. Administration of allopregnanolone (0.3-5.6 mg/kg, IV) also produced complete substitution for the discriminative stimulus effects of ethanol, with an ED50 value of 1.0 mg/kg. Plasma allopregnanolone levels 35 min following the administration of 3.0 mg/kg allopregnanolone ranged from 33 to 69 ng/ml. The ethanol-like discriminative stimulus effects of 1.0 mg/kg allopregnanolone (IV) were present for 60 min, with a return to complete water-appropriate responding at 90 min post-treatment. The results indicate that the endogenous neuroactive steroid allopregnanolone produces subjective effects in cynomolgus monkeys that are similar to ethanol. These findings suggest that changes in the endogenous levels of allopregnanolone could alter sensitivity to the subjective effects of ethanol.

Response-dependent versus response-independent presentation of cocaine: differences in the lethal effects of the drug.

The drug self-administration paradigm is routinely used to assess the abuse liability of psychoactive compounds. Investigations of the behavioral effects of drug use, however, often involve the response-independent (experiment-delivered) administration of the compound. It is frequently assumed that response-independent presentation of a compound has the same effects as response dependent deliveries. The present study examined directly the effects of response-dependent (self-administered) versus response-independent (experimenter-delivered) administration of cocaine on food intake and lethality. Littermate triads were exposed to either cocaine (0.33 mg/infusion) or saline using a yoked-box procedure. One member of the triad self-administered the drug under a fixed-ratio 2 schedule. The other two rats received response-independent infusions of either cocaine or saline. Groups of triads were exposed to two different cocaine access conditions. Daily sessions were terminated after 6 h for one group and after the delivery of 80 infusions for the other. The mean number of infusions delivered each session was 47 (+/- 12) and 70 (+/- 11), respectively, for the 6-h and 80-infusion condition. Under the 80-infusion condition, response-independent infusions of cocaine resulted in a significantly higher rate of mortality compared to littermates self-administering identical amounts of the drug. A fewer number of deaths occurred under 6-h condition; however, only rats exposed to response-independent infusions died under both access conditions. These data indicate that the presence or absence of response dependency can profoundly alter the lethal effects of cocaine.

Reinforcer interactions under concurrent schedules of food, water, and intravenous cocaine.

Rats housed in three-lever, operant-conditioning chambers were trained under a concurrent, chained fixed-ratio 1, fixed-ratio 9 schedule (conc chain FR1 FR9) of food and water deliveries. After stable patterns of food and water intake were observed, the rats were prepared with intravenous catheters and a drug self-administration option was added to the schedule. Cocaine infusions (0.33 mg/infusion) were available for only 6 h (09.00 h-15.00 h), while access to food and water was available for 24 h. Addition of the cocaine option produced a minimal decrease in food and water intake and a considerable disruption ruption of food and water intake patterns. Changes in the cocaine dose (0.08-0.84 mg/infusion) did not alter responding on the levers resulting in either food or water deliveries. Cocaine self-administration, however, showed an inverted "U" shaped function as the dose of cocaine was increased. Drug extinction probes resulted in a significant increase in responding on the levers resulting in food and water deliveries and substantial decreases on the lever previously resulting in cocaine infusions. Twenty-four hour food extinction probes decreased responding on the levers resulting in food and water deliveries and produced a modest decrease in the self-administration of cocaine.

Chlordiazepoxide alters intravenous cocaine self-administration in rats.

This investigation was designed to examine the effects of benzodiazepines on intravenous cocaine self-administration in rats. Pretreatment with low doses of the benzodiazepine receptor agonist, chlordiazepoxide (0.3 to 1.0 mg/kg, IP), resulted in small but nonsignificant increases in drug intake with 0.5 mg/kg cocaine, while higher doses (10 mg/kg, IP) significantly decreased drug intake in all rats tested. The effects of chlordiazepoxide on self-administration were attenuated when the concentration of cocaine was increased to 1.0 mg/kg, suggesting that chlordiazepoxide was opposing rather than augmenting the pharmacological actions of cocaine. Pretreatment with the benzodiazepine receptor antagonist, Ro 15-1788 (1.0 to 10 mg/kg, IP), had no effect on self-administration, suggesting that the reinforcing properties of cocaine do not result from direct interactions with benzodiazepine receptors. The result of this investigation demonstrate that chlordiazepoxide alters intravenous cocaine self-administration in rats. Although additional research will be necessary to confirm these data, the results of this investigation suggest that chlordiazepoxide may decrease the reinforcing efficacy of cocaine through indirect actions on dopaminergic neuronal activity potentially mediated through GABAergic mechanisms via benzodiazepine receptor activation.