Reward system depression following chronic amphetamine: antagonism by haloperidol.
The effect of pre-treatment with haloperidol, a dopamine antagonist, on chronic amphetamine's suppression of intra-cranial self-stimulation of the lateral hypothalamus was investigated. Rats treated with 15 mg/kg d-amphetamine per day for seven days displayed a marked increase in reward threshold for electrical brain stimulation responding with an accompanying suppression of response rate. This disruption of intracranial self-stimulation responding was not observed when 30 min prior to each amphetamine injection, animals were injected with 1.0 mg/kg of haloperidol. This study demonstrates that post-synaptic mechanisms play an integral role in the development of chronic amphetamine depression, and suggests that changes at the dopamine receptor are involved in this reward system alteration.
D000661:Amphetamine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D006220:Haloperidol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011954:Receptors, Dopamine / Q000187:drug effects; D012201:Reward; D012653:Self Stimulation / Q000187:drug effects*
D011954:Receptors, Dopamine; D000661:Amphetamine; D006220:Haloperidol