Buspirone is differentiated from diazepam in humans using a three-response drug discrimination procedure.
The discriminative stimulus effects of buspirone and diazepam were examined in 12 healthy volunteers using a three-response drug discrimination procedure and a within-subject design. During an initial sampling phase, the training drug conditions (placebo, 15 mg/70 kg buspirone, and 10 mg/70 kg diazepam) were identified to subjects by letter codes before oral drug administration. During a subsequent training phase, subjects earned money for correct drug identifications made two hours after drug administration. Ten out of 12 subjects acquired the three-response discrimination. When lower doses of buspirone (3.75 and 7.5 mg/70 kg) and diazepam (2.5 and 5.0 mg/70 kg) were tested in a subsequent generalization testing phase, both buspirone and diazepam produced dose-related increases in appropriate drug identifications, without significant cross-generalization. Analyses of standardized and unstructured self report questionnaires revealed that buspirone and diazepam produced different profiles of effects, and that buspirone was associated with a number of "negative" subject-rated effects including tension, nausea, and dizziness. These results demonstrate a distinct profile of discriminative stimulus and subjective effects for buspirone relative to diazepam which is consistent with its distinct pharmacological profile, and provide evidence for the sensitivity of the three-response drug discrimination procedure.
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Behavioral Biology Research Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA.
J M
JM
Frey
M Z
MZ
Mintzer
C R
CR
Rush
R R
RR
Griffiths
D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect / Q000187:drug effects; D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002065:Buspirone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003975:Diazepam / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male
D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents; D003975:Diazepam; D002065:Buspirone