@article {Caliparijpet.114.212993, author = {Erin S Calipari and Mark J. Ferris and Cody A Siciliano and Benjamin A Zimmer and Sara R. Jones}, title = {Intermittent cocaine self-administration produces sensitization of stimulant effects at the dopamine transporter}, elocation-id = {jpet.114.212993}, year = {2014}, doi = {10.1124/jpet.114.212993}, publisher = {American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics}, abstract = {Previous literature investigating neurobiological adaptations following cocaine self-administration has shown that the development of pharmacodynamic tolerance, characterized by reduced cocaine potency at the dopamine transporter (DAT), results from high, continuous levels of intake (long-access; LgA), while sensitization of cocaine potency is caused by intermittent patterns of cocaine administration (intermittent-access; IntA). Here we aimed to determine if the changes observed following cocaine self-administration were specific to cocaine, or translated to other psychostimulants as well. Potency was assessed by fast scan cyclic voltammetry in brain slices containing the nucleus accumbens following control, IntA, short-access (ShA), and LgA. We assessed the potency of amphetamine, a releaser, and methylphenidate (MPH), a DAT blocker that is functionally similar to cocaine and structurally related to amphetamine. Changes in MPH potency can give information as to the importance of functional or structural aspects of compounds as related to the expression of tolerance/sensitization effects. MPH and amphetamine potencies were increased following IntA, while neither was changed following LgA. Here we demonstrate that while LgA-induced tolerance at the DAT is specific to cocaine, the sensitizing effects of IntA are conferred to cocaine, MPH, and amphetamine. The unchanged potency of MPH following LgA suggests that the expression of tolerance does not rely on the function of the compound as blocker/releaser. This demonstrates that the pattern with which cocaine is administered is important in determining the neurochemical consequences of not only cocaine effects, but cross-sensitization/cross-tolerance effects of other psychostimulants as well.}, issn = {0022-3565}, URL = {https://jpet.aspetjournals.org/content/early/2014/02/24/jpet.114.212993}, eprint = {https://jpet.aspetjournals.org/content/early/2014/02/24/jpet.114.212993.full.pdf}, journal = {Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics} }