title: Comparison of the reinforcing and anxiogenic effects of intravenous cocaine and cocaethylene.
abstract: People report that ethanol improves the experience produced by cocaine. This effect may be attributable to cocaethylene (CE), a cocaine metabolite formed only in the presence of ethanol. To test this, rats were trained to run an alley for a single intravenous dose of either cocaine (0.5-2.0 mg/kg) or an equimolar dose of CE (0.75-2.88 mg/kg). The rats' start latency and running speed measured the reinforcing effects of the drugs and the number of times rats approached but failed to enter the goal box (i.e., approach-avoidance retreats) indexed anxiety. Rats reinforced with CE had shorter start latencies and faster running speeds and exhibited fewer "retreats" than cocaine-reinforced rats. These results suggest that CE is more reinforcing and less anxiogenic than cocaine and hence may account for the combined effects of cocaine and ethanol in humans.
authors.affiliation: U California.
authors.forename: Mary A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Raven
authors.forename: Brian D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Necessary
authors.forename: Deborah A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Danluck
authors.forename: Aaron
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ettenberg
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001007:Anxiety / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000523:psychology*; D003042:Cocaine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology; D003216:Conditioning, Operant / Q000187:drug effects*; D018765:Dopamine Uptake Inhibitors / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007275:Injections, Intravenous; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012054:Reinforcement, Psychology
chemical_list: D018765:Dopamine Uptake Inhibitors; C066444:cocaethylene; D003042:Cocaine