Apomorphine increases ethanol discrimination.
Rats were trained to discriminate between the stimulus properties of 600 mg/kg ethanol and saline in a two-lever, food-motivated operant task. Once trained, rats showed a dose-related decrease in discriminative performance with lower ethanol doses and analysis of the dose-response curve indicated an ED50 of 372 mg/kg. Pretreatment with 0.16 mg/kg apomorphine produced increased discriminative performance at each ethanol dose and the combination generated a dose-response curve parallel to ethanol administered alone with an ED50 of 232 mg/kg. This significant shift to the left of the ethanol dose-response curve after apomorphine administration is discussed in relation to dopaminergic neuronal systems and the clinical use of apomorphine alcoholics.
D000818:Animals; D001058:Apomorphine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological / Q000187:drug effects*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D011954:Receptors, Dopamine / Q000187:drug effects
D011954:Receptors, Dopamine; D000431:Ethanol; D001058:Apomorphine