Delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol produced discrimination in pigeons.
B G Henriksson, J O Johansson, T U Järbe
Pharmacology, biochemistry, and behavior 1975 DOI: 10.1016/0091-3057(75)90105-7 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Operant discrimination study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Pigeons |
| Interventions | delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta9-THC) cannabinol cannabidiol pentobarbital ditran amphetamine LSD |
| Dose | 0.25 mg/kg delta9-THC training dose; 0.20 mg/kg, 0.15 mg/kg and lower delta9-THC test doses; cannabinol and cannabidiol 4.0–8.0 mg/kg |
| Duration | Tested 45, 90, 180, and 360 min after injection |
| Topics | Cannabis |
| Key points | Pigeons discriminated 0.20 mg/kg delta9-THC from the non-drugged state but not 0.15 mg/kg or lower, and the cue was present at 180 minutes but not 360 minutes after injection. Cannabinol, cannabidiol, pentobarbital, ditran, and amphetamine did not produce drug-appropriate responding, while LSD did. Combining non-cannabinoid drugs with 0.15 mg/kg delta9-THC produced drug-key responding, suggesting interactional effects. |
Abstract
In an operant situation pigeons learned to peck one response key 90 min after an injection of 0.25mg/kg delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta9-THC) and another key when trained nondrugged. When tested with doses of delta9-THC lwer than the training dose the birds disciminated 0.20 mg/kg of the drug from the nondrugged state but not 0.15 mg/kg or lower doses. The animals were able to discriminate the drug state from the nondrugged 180 min but not 360 min after the injection At a shorter interval (45 min) both drug and nondrug responding appeared. Cannabinol and cannabidiol (4.0 - 8.0 mg/kg) did not elicit any drug responses, nor did pentobarbital, ditran or amphetamine. Tests with LSD resulted in both drug and nondrug responding. When administering noncannabinoid drugs in combination with delta9-THC 0.15 mg/kg the birds responded at the key associated with the drug state, suggesting interactional effects.