title: The effects of eticlopride and naltrexone on responding maintained by food, cocaine, heroin and cocaine/heroin combinations in rats.
abstract: In the first experiment, responding was maintained for food under a fixed ratio (FR) 10 with a 6-min timeout reinforcement schedule. Eticlopride (0.1-1.0 mg/kg i.p.) dose-dependently decreased the number of food pellets obtained, whereas naltrexone (3-30 mg/kg i.p.) did not significantly alter responding. In the second experiment, intravenous self-administration of cocaine (vehicle, 125, 250 and 500 micrograms/infusion), heroin (vehicle, 5.4, 9 and 18 micrograms/infusion) and cocaine/heroin combinations were maintained under a FR10 reinforcement schedule. Cocaine/heroin combinations included the aforementioned cocaine doses combined with 5.4 micrograms/infusion heroin (CH5.4) or 18 micrograms/infusion heroin (CH18). Cocaine/heroin combinations dose-dependently decreased the number of infusions compared with cocaine alone. Eticlopride (0.03-0.3 mg/kg i.p.) decreased self-administration of 125 micrograms/infusion cocaine and increased self-administration of 500 micrograms/infusion cocaine. Self-administration of 250 micrograms/infusion cocaine was increased after 0.03 and 0.1 mg/kg and decreased after 0.3 mg/kg eticlopride. Eticlopride decreased heroin self-administration, an effect which may be attributable to its rate-decreasing effects. Eticlopride partially reversed the downward shift of the CH5.4 group but did not reverse the effect in the CH18 group. Naltrexone (1.0-10.0 mg/kg i.p.) decreased self-administration of 5.4 micrograms/infusion heroin and increased self-administration of 18 micrograms/infusion heroin. Self-administration of 9 micrograms/infusion heroin was increased by 1.0 mg/kg, not affected by 3.0 mg/kg and decreased by 10.0 mg/kg naltrexone. For the CH5.4 and CH18 groups, naltrexone dose-dependently shifted the dose-effect curves toward the cocaine dose-effect curve. Therefore, self-administration of cocaine/heroine combinations can be maintained in the rat and downward shifts in the cocaine dose-effect curve after combination with heroin are mediated through a naltrexone-sensitive mechanism.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: S E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Hemby
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: S I
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Dworkin
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D003042:Cocaine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018492:Dopamine Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004338:Drug Combinations; D004435:Eating / Q000187:drug effects*; D003932:Heroin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D009271:Naltrexone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344; D011957:Receptors, Opioid / Q000187:drug effects; D012457:Salicylamides / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D018492:Dopamine Antagonists; D004338:Drug Combinations; D011957:Receptors, Opioid; D012457:Salicylamides; D009271:Naltrexone; D003932:Heroin; D003042:Cocaine; C045989:eticlopride