Diverging frequency-modulated 50-kHz vocalization, locomotor activity and conditioned place preference effects in rats given repeated amphetamine treatment.
Behavioral sensitization and tolerance to repetitive exposure to addictive drugs are commonly used for the assessment of the early stages of the drug dependence progress in animals. The orchestra of tools for studying the progress of drug dependence in laboratory rodents has been considerably enriched in the 1980s by the introduction of ultrasonic vocalization (USV) detection and characterization. However, the relationship between the results of this technology and those of traditional behavioral tests is not clear. We attempted to elucidate some of the respective ambiguities by comparing the effects of an intermittent amphetamine treatment, which was aimed both at the induction of sensitization and tolerance to this drug and at testing the persistence of these effects, on the locomotor activity and 50-kHz USV responses to both the drug and the context of drug exposure in adult male rats showing diverging susceptibility for sensitization to amphetamine. Categorization of the rats into low and high responders/callers based on sensitization of their frequency-modulated 50-kHz USV responsiveness showed some correspondence with conditioned place preference effects, but not with responses to amphetamine. The study showed distinct changes in the rate and latency of the frequency-modulated 50-kHz USV responses to repetitive amphetamine treatment, which were reminiscent of classical behavioral signs of sensitization and tolerance. These results show the utility of the appetitive USV for monitoring of early phases of complex processes leading to drug dependence. However, USV, locomotor activity and conditioned place preference seem to reflect different aspects of these phenomena.
Department of Neurochemistry, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology, 9 Sobieskiego St., 02-957 Warsaw, Poland. Electronic address: taracha@ipin.edu.pl.
Ewa
E
Taracha
Department of Neurochemistry, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology, 9 Sobieskiego St., 02-957 Warsaw, Poland.
Ewelina
E
Kaniuga
Department of Experimental Pharmacology, Mossakowski Medical Research Centre, Polish Academy of Sciences, 5 Pawińskiego St., 02-106 Warsaw, Poland.
Stanisław J
SJ
Chrapusta
Department of Neurochemistry, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology, 9 Sobieskiego St., 02-957 Warsaw, Poland; Department of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology, Medical University of Warsaw, 26/28 Krakowskie Przedmieście St., 00-927 Warsaw, Poland.
Piotr
P
Maciejak
Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing, 10 Mochnackiego St., 02-042 Warsaw, Poland; World Hearing Centre, 17 Mokra St., Kajetany, 05-830 Nadarzyn, Poland.
Lech
L
Sliwa
Department of Neurochemistry, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology, 9 Sobieskiego St., 02-957 Warsaw, Poland.
Adam
A
Hamed
Department of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology, Medical University of Warsaw, 26/28 Krakowskie Przedmieście St., 00-927 Warsaw, Poland.
Paweł
P
Krząścik
D000661:Amphetamine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D003213:Conditioning, Psychological / Q000187:drug effects*; D004361:Drug Tolerance; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D014828:Vocalization, Animal / Q000187:drug effects*
D000661:Amphetamine
Drug dependence; Individual differences; Place preference; Sensitization; Tolerance; Ultrasonic vocalization