Facilitation and disruption by mescaline and 3,4-dimethoxyphenylethylamine of shock avoidance in rats
David A. Gorelick, Wagner H. Bridger
Psychopharmacology 1977 DOI: 10.1007/bf00439103 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Experimental study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Male Long-Evans rats trained to high or low stable baseline shock-avoidance rates |
| Interventions | Mescaline hydrochloride 3 4-dimethoxyphenylethylamine hydrochloride (DMPEA) |
| Dose | 4.95-79.2 mg/kg i.p. (mescaline), 12.5-100 mg/kg i.p. (DMPEA) |
| Topics | Mescaline |
| Keywords | Facilitation Avoidance response Avoidance learning Pharmacology Anesthesia Developmental psychology |
| Citations | 9 |
| Key findings | Mescaline has dual facilitative and disruptive effects on avoidance behavior depending on baseline performance, while its non-hallucinogenic analogue DMPEA only disrupts avoidance in good performers. |
Abstract
The effects of mescaline hydrochloride (4.95-79.2 mg/kg i.p.) and its non-hallucinogenic analogue 3,4-dimethoxyphenylethylamine hydrochloride (DMPEA) (12.5-100 mg/kg i.p.) on shock avoidance in a shuttlebox were studied in male Long-Evans rats trained to high (above 88%, good performers) or low (below 6%, poor performers) stable base-line avoidance rates. In good performers, mescaline and DMPEA caused a dose-dependent decrease in avoidance rate (ED 50's 44.6 and 39.2 mg/kg, respectively) without affecting presession (5-min adaptation period) or intertrial shuttlebox crossings. In poor performers, mescaline caused a dose-dependent increase in avoidance rate (ED 50 = 24.8 mg/kg) and intertrial crossings, without affecting presession crossings. The results suggest that mescaline, but not DMPEA, has dual facilitative and disruptive effects on avoidance behavior at similar dose ranges. The facilitative, but not the disruptive, effect may be related to changes in motor activity.
Comparable studies
Other preclinical and animal studies on mescaline, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Correlation between the potency of hallucinogens in the mouse head-twitch response assay and their behavioral and subjective effects in other species. C57BL/6J mice | 2020 | Experimental study with dose-response experiments | |
| Brain mechanisms of hallucinogens and entactogens Humans and rats | 2001 | Review | |
| Effects of hallucinogenic agents mescaline and phencyclidine on zebrafish behavior and physiology Zebrafish (Danio rerio) | 2012 | Experimental study | |
| Lysergic Acid Diethylamide- and Mescaline-Induced Attenuation of the Effect of Punishment in the Rat Rats | 1976 | Experimental study | |
| Dihydrobenzofuran Analogues of Hallucinogens. 3. Models of 4-Substituted (2,5-Dimethoxyphenyl)alkylamine Derivatives with Rigidified Methoxy Groups Rats (trained to discriminate saline from LSD tartrate) and rat cortical and... | 1996 | In vivo drug discrimination assay and in vitro radioligand binding assay |
Citations in the library
Cited by 5
- Mescaline effects on rat behavior and its time profile in serum and brain tissue after a single subcutaneous dose Psychopharmacology October 6, 2007
- Severe aggression in rats induced by mescaline but not other hallucinogens Psychopharmacology December 1, 1979
- Mescaline-induced motor impairment in rats, assessed by two different methods Life Sciences September 1, 1986
- Effects of mescaline and amphetamine on simultaneous visual discrimination in two inbred strains of mice Psychopharmacology 1979
- Comparison of stimulants and hallucinogens on shuttle avoidance in rats. General pharmacology 1987