Skip to content

Pretreatment with the putative anti-addictive drug, ibogaine, increases the potency of cocaine to elicit locomotor responding: a study with acute and chronic cocaine-treated rats.

Karen K. Szumlinski, Isabelle M Maisonneuve, Stanley D Glick

Psychopharmacology July 1, 1999 DOI: 10.1007/s002130051053 (opens in new tab)

Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Experimental study Peer reviewed
Population Rats
Interventions Ibogaine Cocaine
Dose 40 mg/kg ibogaine; 15 mg/kg cocaine for chronic treatment; 0, 5, 10, 20, 40 mg/kg cocaine for dose-response test
Duration 5-day chronic treatment, 2-week withdrawal, 19 h after ibogaine pretreatment
Topics Ibogaine
Keywords Ibogaine pretreatment Cocaine Lower doses Higher doses Drug interaction Influences movement responses Amplified stimulating effects Complex interplay Animal model Rats Acute drug exposure Chronic drug exposure Prior drug history
Citations 14
Key findings Ibogaine pretreatment enhances sensitivity to cocaine's locomotor stimulant effects, with the effect depending on prior cocaine history and cocaine dose.

Abstract

Results of single-dose studies suggest that the effects of pretreatment with the putative anti-addictive compound, ibogaine, on drug-induced locomotor behavior depends on the previous drug history of the animal. To compare the effects of ibogaine pretreatment on the dose-locomotor response function for cocaine in rats treated chronically with either saline or cocaine. Rats were chronically treated with either cocaine (15 mg/kg, IP, once daily for 5 days, followed by 2 week withdrawal) or saline. Ibogaine (40 mg/kg, IP) or vehicle was administered and 19 h later, a cocaine dose-locomotor response test was conducted (0, 5, 10, 20 and 40 mg/kg, IP). Chronic cocaine administration augmented the locomotor response to cocaine in chronic cocaine-treated rats, compared to acutely treated controls. Ibogaine pretreatment enhanced the locomotor effects of cocaine in both chronic and acute cocaine groups. Furthermore, due to the shape of the dose-response curve, in chronic cocaine but not in acute cocaine rats, ibogaine pretreatment enhanced the locomotor response to 5 and 10 mg/kg cocaine while decreasing the locomotor response to 40 mg/kg cocaine. These data demonstrate definitively that ibogaine can enhance sensitivity to the locomotor stimulant effects of cocaine, an effect which depends, in part, on the previous cocaine history of the animal.

Explore topics