Preadolescent methylphenidate versus cocaine treatment differ in the expression of cocaine-induced locomotor sensitization during adolescence and adulthood.
BACKGROUND
Methylphenidate (MPH), the most commonly prescribed medication for childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), shares chemical and mechanistic similarities to cocaine which has stimulated research to address the addiction liability following treatment.


METHODS
Utilizing locomotor sensitization we examined the consequences of recurrent MPH versus cocaine treatment during preadolescence in altering cocaine-induced locomotor behavior in adolescent and adult mice. Black Swiss Webster mice were treated with MPH, cocaine, or saline during preadolescence. To test whether MPH pretreatment during preadolescence contributed to an altered sensitivity to cocaine during adolescence, these mice were treated with recurrent cocaine or saline during adolescence. All mice were challenged with cocaine as adults.


RESULTS
Recurrent MPH treatment, unlike cocaine treatment in preadolescent mice, had no effect on locomotor sensitization to cocaine during adolescence or adulthood, as compared with saline controls. Furthermore, unlike cocaine, administration of MPH in adolescence did not augment the response to cocaine challenge.


CONCLUSIONS
MPH treatment during preadolescence does not increase subsequent sensitivity to cocaine, whereas cocaine treatment does. Thus, MPH treatment during preadolescence does not appear to persistently induce long-term adaptations, which may underlie an enhanced liability for subsequent drug abuse.
Guerriero
Réjean M
RM
Laboratory of Molecular and Developmental Neuroscience, Massachusetts General Hospital-East, Charlestown, USA.
Hayes
Margaret M
MM
Dhaliwal
Sharon K
SK
Ren
Jia-Qian
JQ
Kosofsky
Barry E
BE
D000367:Age Factors; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D003042:Cocaine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D018765:Dopamine Uptake Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D008124:Locomotion / Q000187:drug effects*; D008297:Male; D008774:Methylphenidate / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D051379:Mice; D011247:Pregnancy; D015430:Weight Gain / Q000187:drug effects
D018765:Dopamine Uptake Inhibitors; D008774:Methylphenidate; D003042:Cocaine