Interaction of noncontingent cocaine and contingent drug-paired stimuli on cocaine reinstatement.
Both noncontingent cocaine and the presentation of cocaine-paired external stimuli will reinstate cocaine-appropriate operant responding. However, the interaction of noncontingent cocaine and cocaine-paired stimuli in producing reinstatement has not been extensively examined. In the present study, the ability of noncontingent cocaine alone, the combination of noncontingent cocaine + contingent cocaine-paired lights + tone and contingent lights + tone alone to produce reinstatement were examined. No cocaine dose (3, 10, 17 mg/kg) produced significant reinstatement in the absence of cocaine-paired lights + tone. When responding also resulted in lights + tone presentation, all doses of cocaine produced similar, significant reinstatement. Finally, when only response contingent lights + tone were presented, none of the groups showed significant reinstatement. These findings indicate that in isolation, noncontingent cocaine alone and cocaine-paired external stimuli may be insufficient to engender significant levels of reinstatement, but when presented together produce robust reinstatement. The results highlight the important interaction between drug administration and drug-paired environmental stimuli in the reinstatement model.
Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Medical College of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23298-0613, USA. klshelto@hsc.vcu.edu
Keith L
KL
Shelton
Elizabeth
E
Hendrick
Patrick M
PM
Beardsley
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000818:Animals; D003042:Cocaine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology*; D003216:Conditioning, Operant; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D007262:Infusions, Intravenous; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012008:Recurrence; D012055:Reinforcement Schedule; D012646:Self Administration
D003042:Cocaine