title: Butorphanol and nalbuphine in opioid-dependent humans under a naloxone discrimination procedure.
abstract: Opioid-maintained volunteers were trained to distinguish between a low dose of the opioid antagonist naloxone (0.15 mg/70 kg, i.m.; i.e., Drug A) and placebo (i.e., Drug B) under an instructed novel-response drug-discrimination procedure in which subjects identify the drug condition as "A," "B," or "N" (neither A nor B--'novel'). Once the discrimination was acquired, doses of naloxone (000.15 mg/70 kg, i.m.) and the mixed-action opioid agonist/antagonists butorphanol (0-1.5 mg/70 kg, i.m.) and nalbuphine (0-3.0 mg/70 kg, i.m.) were tested. Naloxone produced dose-related increases in naloxone-appropriate responding with little or no 'novel'-appropriate responding. Butorphanol produced a dose-related increase in naloxone- and 'novel'-appropriate responding, occasioning approximately 70% and 29%, respectively, at the highest dose tested. Nalbuphine produced 40-65% naloxone-appropriate responding at all doses tested and 33% 'novel'-appropriate responding at the highest doses. Self-reported effects produced by each agent differed only slightly. These results suggest that mixed-action opioid agonist/antagonists may be distinguished from the opioid antagonist naloxone based on their discriminative-stimulus effects under a novel-response naloxone discrimination procedure.
authors.affiliation: Substance Abuse Center, Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, 34 Park Street, New Haven, CT 06519, USA. alison.oliveto@yale.edu
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Oliveto
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sevarino
authors.forename: Elinore
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: McCance-Katz
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Feingold
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002077:Butorphanol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009266:Nalbuphine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009270:Naloxone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009292:Narcotic Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009294:Narcotics / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009293:Opioid-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D009292:Narcotic Antagonists; D009294:Narcotics; D009270:Naloxone; D009266:Nalbuphine; D002077:Butorphanol