Reinstatement of MDMA (ecstasy) seeking by exposure to discrete drug-conditioned cues.
Kevin T. Ball, Kelly M Walsh, George V. Rebec
Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior October 2007 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2007.05.018 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Drug-naive rats |
| Intervention | MDMA |
| Dose | 0.30 mg/kg/infusion, i.v. |
| Topics | MDMA |
| Key findings | Conditioned cues (light and tone) reinstated lever pressing after extinction in rats trained to self-administer MDMA, and the magnitude of reinstatement was positively correlated with the level of responding during MDMA self-administration. |
Abstract
The widely used recreational drug MDMA (ecstasy) supports self-administration in animals, but it is not known whether MDMA-associated cues are able to reinstate drug seeking in a relapse model of drug addiction. To assess this possibility, drug-naïve rats were trained to press a lever for MDMA infusions (0.30 mg/kg/infusion, i.v.) paired with a compound cue (light and tone) in daily 2 h sessions. Responding was reinforced contingent on a modified fixed-ratio 5 schedule of reinforcement. Conditioned cue-induced reinstatement tests were conducted after lever pressing was extinguished in the absence of MDMA and the conditioned cues. Conditioned cues reinstated lever pressing after extinction, and the magnitude of reinstatement was positively correlated with the level of responding during MDMA self-administration. These results show for the first time that conditioned cues can trigger reinstatement of MDMA-seeking behavior in rats, and that individual differences in the pattern of MDMA self-administration can predict the magnitude of reinstatement responding.
Comparable studies
Other preclinical and animal studies on MDMA, most cited first.
Citations in the library
Cited by 23
- Intravenous self-administration of mephedrone, methylone and MDMA in female rats Neuropharmacology January 17, 2015
- MDMA Self-Administration in Laboratory Animals: A Summary of the Literature and Proposal for Future Research Neuropsychobiology 2009
- Dopaminergic mechanisms of reinstatement of MDMA‐seeking behaviour in rats British Journal of Pharmacology December 30, 2010
- Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) in Psychiatry Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology October 10, 2018
- Drug seeking in response to a priming injection of MDMA in rats: relationship to initial sensitivity to self-administered MDMA and dorsal striatal dopamine The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology March 25, 2010
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Cites 11
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- Chronic tolerance to recreational MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) or Ecstasy Journal of Psychopharmacology 2005
- Reinforcing Effects of MDMA (‘Ecstasy’) in Drug-Naive and Cocaine-Trained Rats Pharmacology 2001
- Problematic versus non-problematic ecstasy/MDMA use: the influence of drug usage patterns and pre-existing psychiatric factors Journal of Psychopharmacology March 30, 2006
- Context‐dependent behavioural and neuronal sensitization in striatum to MDMA (ecstasy) administration in rats European Journal of Neuroscience July 1, 2006
and 6 more in the library