Effects of priming injections of MDMA and cocaine on reinstatement of MDMA- and cocaine-seeking in rats.
Susan Schenk, Lincoln S. Hely, David Gittings, Barbara Lake, Evangeline Daniela
Drug and Alcohol Dependence August 1, 2008 DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2008.03.014 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Preclinical behavioral study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Rats trained to self-administer cocaine or MDMA |
| Interventions | Cocaine MDMA |
| Dose | Cocaine 0-20.0 mg/kg; MDMA 0.0-10.0 mg/kg; 10.0 mg/kg MDMA (i.p.) |
| Topics | MDMA |
| Key points | Priming injections of cocaine and MDMA reinstated extinguished drug-seeking in both cocaine- and MDMA-trained rats. Repeated MDMA exposure made MDMA an effective prime in cocaine-trained rats after an initial failure, and MDMA's effect was greater in MDMA-trained rats, which the authors suggest may reflect sensitization from extensive MDMA self-administration experience. |
Abstract
Exposure to self-administered drugs is sufficient to produce drug-seeking in animal models. In many cases priming injections of drugs that share discriminative stimulus properties with the self-administered drug also can lead to drug-seeking, suggesting that exposure might precipitate relapse. The present investigation examined the ability of MDMA or cocaine priming injections to reinstate extinguished drug-seeking in rats. Priming injections of cocaine (0-20.0 mg/kg) and MDMA (0.0-10.0 mg/kg) reinstated extinguished drug-taking for both the cocaine- and MDMA-trained rats. In a separate group of cocaine-trained rats that received repeated exposure to 10.0 mg/kg MDMA, the initial exposure to MDMA (10.0 mg/kg, i.p.) failed to reinstate extinguished responding but MDMA became an effective prime for reinstatement of extinguished cocaine-taking behavior with repeated exposure. Effects of MDMA in MDMA-trained rats was greater than the effect in cocaine-trained rats suggesting that extensive experience with MDMA self-administration might have sensitized rats to this effect. These findings show that extinguished MDMA self-administration, like self-administration of other drugs of abuse, can be reinstated by exposure to psychostimulants thereby precipitating relapse.
Comparable studies
Other preclinical and animal studies on MDMA, most cited first.
Citations in the library
Cited by 20
- The ugly side of amphetamines: short- and long-term toxicity of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ‘Ecstasy’), methamphetamine and d-amphetamine Biological Chemistry January 2, 2011
- 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
- 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
- Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA): Serotonergic and dopaminergic mechanisms related to its use and misuse Journal of Neurochemistry March 12, 2021
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and 9 more in the library