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Naloxone alters the effects of LSD, DOM and quipazine on operant behavior of rats.

David J. Mokler, Randall L. Commissaris, J W Henck, Richard H. Rech

Pharmacology, biochemistry, and behavior September 1984 DOI: 10.1016/s0091-3057(84)80090-8 (opens in new tab)

Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Preclinical behavioral pharmacology experiment Peer reviewed
Population Rats responding under a fixed-ratio 40 (FR-40) schedule of reinforcement
Interventions d-lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) 2 5-dimethoxy-4-methylamphetamine (DOM) quipazine naloxone
Dose naloxone 4.0 mg/kg
Measures fixed ratio (FR-40) response rates, 10-second pause intervals
Topics LSD
Key findings LSD, DOM, and quipazine each produced dose-dependent decreases in FR-40 response rates and increases in 10-second pause intervals. Naloxone (4.0 mg/kg) alone had no effect but potentiated the pause-producing effects of LSD and, to a lesser extent, DOM, while leaving quipazine's effect on reinforcers unchanged and slightly attenuating its pause effect. The authors propose these pause effects reflect activation of a selective portion of brain 5-HT receptors, with naloxone's potentiation possibly involving endogenous opioid modulation of central 5-HT systems.

Abstract

Administration of the indolealkylamine hallucinogen d-lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), the phenethylamine hallucinogen 2,5-dimethoxy-4-methylamphetamine (DOM) and the putative 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) agonist quipazine all produced a dose-dependent decrease in fixed ratio (FR-40) response rates and a concomitant increase in the number of 10-second pause intervals. Although naloxone (4.0 mg/kg) had no effect on FR-40 responding per se, the pause-producing effects of LSD and, to a lesser extent, DOM were potentiated by pretreatment with naloxone. The action of quipazine on reinforcers was unaffected by combination with naloxone, while the effect on pause intervals was slightly attenuated by naloxone pretreatment. These data and previous studies suggest that the pause-producing effects of indolealkylamine and phenethylamine hallucinogens reflect their activation of a selective portion of brain 5-HT receptors. The potentiation of these effects by naloxone may relate to a modulation of central 5-HT systems by endogenous opioid mechanisms tending to restore an imbalance in various 5-HT pathways caused by the hallucinogenic 5-HT agonists. The more generalized disruptive effects of quipazine on brain 5-HT systems may be less susceptible to the endogenous opioid modulation or may actually combine with it to induce a greater disruption.