Search results for "Amphetamine"
showing 10 items of 108 documents
Behavioural and neurotoxic long-lasting effects of MDMA plus cocaine in adolescent mice
2008
The poly-drug pattern is the most common among MDMA users, with cocaine being a frequently associated drug. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the behavioural and neurotoxic long-term effects of exposure during adolescence to MDMA alone or plus cocaine. Mice of 28 to 30 days of age received a treatment of two daily injections of an identical dose of MDMA (5, 10 or 20 mg/kg), alone or plus cocaine (25 mg/kg), for 3 days (6 administrations). Three weeks after receiving MDMA, an increase in the time dedicated by the animals to social contacts with their conspecifics was observed, whilst their behaviour in the elevated plus maze showed no differences from that of non-treated mice. Afte…
Neurochemical Substrates of MDMA Reward: Effects of the Inhibition of Serotonin Reuptake on the Acquisition and Reinstatement of MDMA-induced CPP
2013
Different neurotransmitter brain systems have been implicated in the rewarding effects of 3,4-methylenedioxymetamphetamine (MDMA), including dopamine or serotonin. Serotonin selective reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) are a commonly prescribed therapy for psychiatric disorders, and the SSRI fluoxetine is recommended for MDMA users due to its neuroprotective effect against MDMAinduced neurotoxicity. In the present work, we employed the conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigm to study how the inhibition of serotonin reuptake with fluoxetine affected the rewarding and reinstating effects of MDMA in adolescent male mice. Firstly, we evaluated the motivational effects of fluoxetine (1 and 10 mg/kg)…
Adolescent pre-exposure to ethanol or MDMA prolongs the conditioned rewarding effects of MDMA
2011
Adolescents often take ethanol (EtOH) in combination with MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethylamphetamine). In the present work we studied the effect of repeated intermittent adolescent pre-exposure to both drugs on the behavioral and neurochemical effects of MDMA in mice. Sixteen days after pre-treatment, the rewarding and reinstating effects of MDMA in the conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigm were evaluated, along with the levels of biogenic amines, basal motor activity and corticosterone response to different challenges. Pre-exposure to EtOH, MDMA or EtOH+MDMA did not affect the CPP induced by 10mg/kg of MDMA. However, adolescent exposure to EtOH or MDMA increased the duration of the co…
Effect of intermittent exposure to ethanol and MDMA during adolescence on learning and memory in adult mice
2012
Abstract Background Heavy binge drinking is increasingly frequent among adolescents, and consumption of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is often combined with ethanol (EtOH). The long-lasting effects of intermittent exposure to EtOH and MDMA during adolescence on learning and memory were evaluated in adult mice using the Hebb-Williams maze. Methods Adolescent OF1 mice were exposed to EtOH (1.25 g/kg) on two consecutive days at 48-h intervals over a 14-day period (from PD 29 to 42). MDMA (10 or 20 mg/kg) was injected twice daily at 4-h intervals over two consecutive days, and this schedule was repeated six days later (PD 33, 34, 41 and 42), resulting in a total of eight injections. …
The atypical dopamine transport inhibitor, JHW 007, prevents amphetamine-induced sensitization and synaptic reorganization within the nucleus accumbe…
2013
Benztropine (BZT) analogs, a family of agents with high affinity for the dopamine transporter have been postulated as potential treatments in stimulant abuse due to their ability to attenuate a wide range of effects evoked by psychomotor stimulants such as cocaine and amphetamine (AMPH). Repeating administration of drugs, including stimulants, can result in behavioral sensitization, a progressive increase in their psychomotor activating effects. We examined in mice the sensitizing effects and the neuroplasticity changes elicited by chronic AMPH exposure, and the modulation of these effects by the BZT derivative and atypical dopamine uptake inhibitor, JHW007, a candidate medication for stimu…
Ascorbic acid antagonizes ethanol-induced locomotor activity in the open-field.
1999
Abstract It has been reported that ascorbic acid (AA) antagonizes the physiological and behavioral effects of dopamine (DA). AA reduces locomotor activity induced by dopaminergic agonist drugs. Also, AA amplifies the action of antidopaminergic drugs. Ethanol, like other drugs, produces a release of DA in the mesolimbic pathway, and at some doses, induces locomotor activity in mice. The ethanol-induced locomotor activity could be dopamine-dependent because it can be reduced by antidopaminergic drugs. In the present study, we investigated whether an acute administration of AA reduces ethanol-induced locomotor behavior. AA, at doses (0.0, 21.85, 87.5, 175, 350, and 1400 mg/kg) was injected IP …
Role of NMDA and AMPA glutamatergic receptors in the effects of social defeat on the rewarding properties of MDMA in mice
2019
Exposure to social stress alters the response to drugs of abuse of experimental animals. Changes in the glutamatergic system seem to play a role in the effects of social defeat stress on the rewarding properties of cocaine and amphetamine. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the involvement of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) and alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) glutamate receptors in the effects of social defeat on the conditioned place preference induced by 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). Our hypothesis was that changes in these receptors could mediate the effects of social defeat on MDMA reward. Young adult male mice were exposed to an episode…
Lunasin-induced behavioural effects in mice: Focus on the dopaminergic system
2013
The present study for the first time is devoted to identify central effects of synthetic lunasin, a 43 amino acid peptide. A markedly expressed neuroleptic/cataleptic effect was observed at low (0.1-10 nmol/mouse) centrally administered doses in male C57Bl/6 mice. Lunasin considerably reduced the amphetamine hyperlocomotion but weakly apomorphine climbing behaviour. No influence on ketamine and bicuculline effects was observed. Binding assay studies demonstrated modest affinity of lunasin for the dopamine D₁ receptor (Ki=60 ± 15 μM). In a functional assay of cAMP accumulation on live cells lunasin antagonised apomorphine effect on D₁ receptor activation (pEC₅₀=6.1 ± 0.3), but had no effect …
Effects of Intraaccumbens Microinjections of Quinpirole on Head Turning and Circling Movement in the Rat
1998
This study was designed to evaluate whether nucleus accumbens dopamine D2 receptors are involved in the initiation of the movement, as distinguished from its execution. For this purpose, the effects of the quinpirole-induced increase of nucleus accumbens dopamine D2 receptor activity were observed on specific parameters of the circling behavior and of its first stage, the head-turning (HT) movement. The experiments were performed on rats with unilateral 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) lesion of the pars compacta of the substantia nigra and d-amphetamine i.p. (3 mg/kg). Bilateral intraaccumbens microinjections of quinpirole (1, 5, and 10 microg/0.5 microl), an agonist of the D2 receptor family, w…
Changes in the structure of the agonistic behavior of mice produced by D-amphetamine.
1997
The effects of three acute doses of D-amphetamine (0.25, 1.5 and 3 mg/kg) were studied in a model of isolation-induced aggression in male mice. An ethopharmacological analysis of the encounters was carried out, which studied the frequency, total and mean duration of different behavioral categories, including the temporal distribution of attacks and the duration of inter-attack intervals. The results show a reduction in the total and mean duration of the Attack category and an increase in motor activity manifested by longer durations, both total and mean, of Non Social Exploration and shorter Immobility. The temporal analysis of Attack revealed an increase in the number of very short (< 15 s…