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Psychology Commons

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Experimental Analysis of Behavior

Sacred Heart University

Series

2012

Articles 1 - 1 of 1

Full-Text Articles in Psychology

Stress Alters The Discriminative Stimulus And Response Rate Effects Of Cocaine Differentially In Lewis And Fischer Inbred Rats, Therese A. Kosten, Mindy Miserendino Mar 2012

Stress Alters The Discriminative Stimulus And Response Rate Effects Of Cocaine Differentially In Lewis And Fischer Inbred Rats, Therese A. Kosten, Mindy Miserendino

Psychology Faculty Publications

Stress enhances the behavioral effects of cocaine, perhaps via hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity. Yet, compared to Fischer 344 (F344) rats, Lewis rats have hyporesponsive HPA axis function and more readily acquire cocaine self-administration. We hypothesized that stress would differentially affect cocaine behaviors in these strains. The effects of three stressors on the discriminative stimulus and response rate effects of cocaine were investigated. Rats of both strains were trained to discriminate cocaine (10 mg/kg) from saline using a two-lever, food-reinforced (FR10) procedure. Immediately prior to cumulative dose (1, 3, 10 mg/kg cocaine) test sessions, rats were restrained for 15-min, had 15-min …