title: Increasing the selectivity of the discriminative stimulus effects of delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol: complete substitution with methanandamide.
abstract: In an attempt to increase the selectivity of the discriminative stimulus effects of Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), rats were trained to discriminate 3.2 mg/kg of this compound from a group of "other" drugs consisting of morphine (3.2 mg/kg), PCP (2.5 mg/kg), and vehicle. Acquisition of the Delta9-THC-other discrimination was rapid (38 days) and did not differ significantly from that of a group of "control" animals trained to discriminate Delta9-THC (3.2 mg/kg) from its vehicle (33 days). In substitution (generalization) tests, a high dose of anandamide, which also severely decreased response rate, substituted partially in both the control and the Delta9-THC-other group; (R)-methanandamide, an analog of anandamide which is metabolized more slowly, substituted completely for Delta9-THC in the control, and partially in the Delta9-THC-other group; neither pentobarbital nor diazepam substituted completely for Delta9-THC under any experimental condition. Regardless of the level of Delta9-THC lever responding, all drugs except diazepam substituted less in the Delta9-THC-other than in the control group. For this reason, the Delta9-THC-other training procedure might be described as being more selective than the commonly used drug-no drug procedure.
authors.affiliation: Behavioral Pharmacology Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, 1512 Pendleton Street, Columbia, SC 29208, USA.
authors.forename: Tevfik
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Alici
authors.forename: James B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Appel
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001095:Arachidonic Acids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004193:Discrimination Learning / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D013759:Dronabinol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D001095:Arachidonic Acids; C088155:methanandamide; D013759:Dronabinol