title: Impairment of acquisition of cocaine self-administration in rats maintained on a high-fat diet.
abstract: Variations in dietary constituents such as carbohydrate are known to alter psychostimulant function in brain. Relatively few studies have examined the reinforcing effects of psychostimulants in subjects maintained on high-fat diets. The present experiment compared the rate of acquisition of an operant response for intravenous (i.v.) cocaine infusions (0.2 mg/kg) in rats fed either a chow-pellet diet or a 35.9% (by weight) high-fat diet for 45 days prior to cocaine self-administration testing. Rats maintained on a high-fat diet for 45 days exhibited diminished acquisition of cocaine self-administration, and this effect was not a function of dietary-induced obesity. The results suggest that prolonged exposure to a high-fat diet diminishes the efficacy of cocaine reinforcement.
authors.affiliation: Behavioral Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-4235, USA. pjw@psyc.tamu.edu
authors.forename: Paul J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Wellman
authors.forename: Jack R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Nation
authors.forename: Kristina W
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Davis
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003216:Conditioning, Operant / Q000187:drug effects; D004032:Diet; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012054:Reinforcement, Psychology; D012646:Self Administration; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000523:psychology; D015430:Weight Gain / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D004041:Dietary Fats