DRL performance in 6-hydroxydopamine-treated rats.
Adult rats were given intraventricular injections of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-HDA) or saline-ascorbate vehicle prior to exposure to a differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate (DRL) 18-sec schedule of water reinforcement. The 6-HDA treatment did not alter the acquisition or maintenance of DRL performance despite large depletions of dopamine and norepinephrine in brain. The 6-HDA treatment completely blocked the response rate-increasing effects of amphetamine but did not alter the rate-decreasing effects of amphetamine on DRL performance. These findings suggest that 6-HDA-treated rats are able to responsd to the contingencies necessary to maintain reinforcement on a DRL schedule.
D000818:Animals; D001923:Brain Chemistry / Q000187:drug effects; D003216:Conditioning, Operant / Q000187:drug effects*; D003913:Dextroamphetamine / Q000494:pharmacology; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D006892:Hydroxydopamines / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D012055:Reinforcement Schedule; D013997:Time Factors
D006892:Hydroxydopamines; D003913:Dextroamphetamine; D004298:Dopamine; D009638:Norepinephrine