Drugs such as PCP and MK-801 can cause psychotic reactions in humans by antagonizing NMDA receptors. This action is ultimately toxic to certain cortical neurons and may be one mechanism underlying neurodegenerative diseases, including schizophrenia. It has been reported that hallucinogens such as LSD, DOM, and DOI can block the neurotoxic effects of NMDA antagonists, possibly by activating...
In an attempt to increase the selectivity of drug discrimination, rats were trained to discriminate LSD (0.08 mg/kg) from a group of "other" compounds consisting of cocaine (10 mg/kg), pentobarbital (5 mg/kg), and saline. Acquisition of this LSD-other discrimination was rapid (31 days) in chambers equipped with retractable levers and did not differ significantly from that of a group of animals...
Rats were trained to press a lever under a variable-interval (VI) schedule of water reinforcement. After stable responding had developed, a 4.5-KHz tone (CS) was conditioned classically to a 2.5-mA electric shock (US) in groups of animals which had been given various psychoactive drugs or saline. Twenty-four hours later, a stimulus generalization test was conducted in the absence of drug;...
The classical conditioning potential of several drugs was tested in rats by pairing a light CS with the drug UCSs; these stimuli were superimposed in a variable-interval 30 sec schedule for water reinforcement. Conditioning (suppression of bar-pressing in the presence of the CS) was definitely demonstrated with psilocybin (2.0 mg/kg), was suggested but not clearly shown with LSD (0.13 MG/kg),...