Abstract
Dependence liability of 10 drugs was tested in rhesus monkeys. Two to four experiments were conducted with each drug: acute central nervous system effect observation in normal monkeys, substitution experiments in barbital-dependent and withdrawn monkeys, long-term administration experiments in drug-naive monkeys and continuous self-administration experiments with an intracardiac or intragastric catheter in naive and/or self-administration-experienced monkeys. Barbital withdrawal signs were suppressed by pentobarbital, alcohol, chloroform, meprobamate, diazepam, chlordiazepoxide and oxazolam, but not by benzoctamine, perlapine or chlorpromazine. The former group of drugs, with the exception of chloroform and meprobamate which were not tested, produced physical dependence in naive monkeys and marked barbiturate-like withdrawal signs. Monkeys voluntarily ingested pentobarbital-Ca and alcohol in intragastric self-administration experiments to the extent that marked depression and severe withdrawal signs were observed in some monkeys. Monkeys self-administered diazepam, chlordiazepoxide and oxazolam intragastrically and/or intravenously. However, during this experiment, the animals were not heavily depressed and did not manifest marked withdrawal signs. No self-administration experiment was conducted with meprobamate. By the criteria of our experimental design, benzoctamine and perlapine were found to be dependence-free drugs.
Footnotes
- Received June 21, 1972.
- Accepted January 2, 1973.
- © 1973 by The Williams & Wilkins Co.
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