Abstract
The present study examined the effect of drug and reinforcement history on quinpirole-maintained responding in rats. Quinpirole (0.01, 0.032, or 0.1 mg/kg per injection) was assessed as a reinforcer in experimentally naive rats, as well as in rats trained to self-administer cocaine, remifentanil, ketamine, or food under a fixed ratio 1 schedule of reinforcement. Quinpirole failed to maintain responding in experimentally naive rats, or in ketamine- or food-trained rats. However, robust responding was maintained in rats with a history of cocaine reinforcement, and modest levels of responding were observed in rats with a history of responding for remifentanil. In a second set of studies, the effects of protracted drug histories on quinpirole-maintained responding in food-trained rats were assessed. Rats were maintained with food reinforcement, and different groups of rats were then allowed to respond for saline, quinpirole, and response-contingent cocaine or were administered noncontingent cocaine; all rats were subsequently allowed to respond for quinpirole. Only rats that previously responded for cocaine showed quinpirole-maintained responding; all other conditions failed to establish quinpirole-maintained responding. Although the high levels of quinpirole-maintained responding observed when quinpirole was substituted for cocaine are suggestive of positive reinforcing effects, these response-maintaining effects were highly dependent upon both drug and reinforcement history, suggesting that quinpirole may only function as a reinforcer under very specific conditions. The behavioral effects of quinpirole under these situations represent a novel constellation of actions relative to other drug reinforcers, and they suggest that the direct effects of self-administered quinpirole may be important in establishing the response-maintaining effects.
Footnotes
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This research was supported by U.S. Public Health Service National Institute on Drug Abuse Grants DA20669 and DA019322.
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Article, publication date, and citation information can be found at http://jpet.aspetjournals.org.
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doi:10.1124/jpet.107.123042.
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ABBREVIATIONS: LED, light-emitting diode; inj, injection; FR, fixed ratio; TO, time-out; ANOVA, analysis of variance; GBR 12909, 1-{2-[bis-(4-fluorophenyl)methoxy]ethyl}-4-(3-phenylpropyl)piperazine; MK-801, 5H-dibenzo[a,d]cyclohepten-5,10-imine (dizocilpine maleate).
- Received March 19, 2007.
- Accepted August 2, 2007.
- The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
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