Alice M. Young

Evidence for perceptual masking of the discriminative morphine stimulus.

Morphine-amphetamine and morphine-naltrexone interactions were examined in three groups of White Carneaux pigeons (n=3), which were trained in a twochoice drug discrimination procedure under a FR-30 schedule of food reinforcement using 3.2 mg/kg morphine and saline as discriminative stimuli. Once stimulus control was acquired by these initial training stimuli, the training doses of morphine were gradually changed to 1.0 mg/kg for group A and to 10 mg/kg for group C. The three groups differed in the minimum dose required for stimulus control and the drugs to which the training stimulus generalized. Stimulus generalization to amphetamine was inversely related to training dose. Amphetamine potentiated the discriminative stimulus properties of morphine. Naltrexone blocked the discriminative stimulus properties of morphine to varying degrees, which appeared to be limited by the training dose and the rate-suppressing effects of naltrexone when administered alone. Challenging the morphine stimulus with amphetamine resulted in a qualitatively similar blockade. This blockade was a direct function of the morphine training dose. It is argued that MS-AMP interactions result in perceptual masking of the MS stimulus, which can be differentiated from pharmacological antagonism by NTX. Two other challenge drugs, ketamine, and sodium pentobarbital, did not alter stimulus control by morphine.

Effects of acute morphine pretreatment on the rate-decreasing and antagonist activity of naloxone

Rats responded under a schedule in which every 30th lever press (fixed ratio 30) produced a food pellet during sessions divided into six 5-min ratio components separated by 10-min timeout (TO) periods. Cumulative doses of morphine or naloxone were administered at the start of consecutive TO periods. When given alone, morphine decreased response rates in a dose-dependent manner, abolishing responding at 10 or 17.8 mg/kg. Naloxone doses of 0.1 and 1.0 mg/kg restored rates and patterns of behavior suppressed by a dose of 17.8 mg/kg morphine; doses of 0.32 to 10 mg/kg prevented the rate-decreasing effects of cumulative morphine doses. When administered alone, naloxone initially decreased response rates at a cumulative dose of 32 to 100 mg/kg; with repeated testing and intervening morphine exposure, the required cumulative dose was decreased to 10 or 32 mg/kg. An acute 10 mg/kg morphine pretreatment, given 4 h before the session, decreased the cumulative naloxone dose required to suppress rates an additional 10- to 30-fold. This effect was time-dependent and dose-dependent, and the usual naloxone dose-response function could be recaptured 1 week after the pretreatment effect was obtained. In contrast, acute morphine pretreatment did not alter either the cumulative dose of morphine itself required to suppress rates or the naloxone dose required to reverse or prevent morphines rate-decreasing effects.

In vivo apparent affinity and efficacy estimates for μ opiates in a rat tail-withdrawal assay

Abstract Experiments in a rat tail-withdrawal assay tested the hypothesis that the magnitude and pattern of antagonism of μ opiate agonists by the insurmountable μ opioid antagonist clocinnamox are inversely related to agonist efficacy. In addition, these experiments examined whether this antagonism could be quantified to yield apparent affinity and efficacy estimates for the pharmacological characterization of five opiate agonists. Etonitazene, etorphine, morphine, buprenorphine, and GPA 1657 produced dose-dependent increases in tail-withdrawal latency until 100% maximum possible effect (%MPE) was obtained. Morphine required a higher dose of clocinnamox for a 50% reduction in maximal antinociceptive effect than did buprenorphine or GPA 1657. In contrast, no dose of clocinnamox tested decreased the%MPE for etonitazene or etorphine. These data suggest a rank order of relative efficacy of etonitazene ≥ etorphine > morphine ≥ GPA 1657 ≥ buprenorphine. Similarly, numerical analysis of these data yielded the following apparent affinity and efficacy estimates: etonitazene (0.38 mg/kg, 128); etorphine (0.68 mg/kg, 125); morphine (50 mg/kg, 38), GPA 1657 (6.6, 39); and buprenorphine (0.042 mg/kg, 2.2). These data illustrate that in vivo affinity and efficacy estimates for a number of agonists are remarkably similar across different methods of analysis and are useful for drug classification.

Environmental modification of tolerance to morphine discriminative stimulus properties in rats

The development of tolerance to the discriminative stimulus properties of morphine was examined in rats trained to discriminate saline and 3.2 mg/kg morphine under amultiple timeout 15 min, 5 min fixed-ratio 30 schedule of food delivery. Generalization gradients were generated by administering increasing doses of morphine before successive timeout periods within the experimental session. Over the course of the study, the minimal discriminable dose (MDD) of morphine under control conditions fluctuated but did not systematically increase or decrease. Acute pretreatments of 3.2–17.8 mg/kg morphine 4–24 h before a generalization test resulted in minor changes in the MDD. To examine development of tolerance, supplemental doses of morphine (17.8 mg/kg) or saline were administered twice daily while discrimination training was either suspended or continued. Tolerance was assessed by weekly generalization tests. Greater tolerance developed to the morphine stimulus when training was suspended than when training was continued. For both training conditions, response rates during generalization tests were markedly suppressed during supplemental morphine administration, and original generalization gradients were recaptured within 2 weeks after termination of supplemental morphine administration. Supplemental saline administration did not alter the discriminative or rate-altering effects of morphine under either training condition. Thus, the magnitude of tolerance to a morphine discriminative stimulus reflected an interaction of supplemental drug treatment with the training conditions imposed during that treatment.

Tolerance and cross-tolerance to morphine-like stimulus effects of µ opioids in rats

Abstract The purpose of these experiments was to examine the relationship of agonist relative efficacy to the pattern of tolerance and cross-tolerance to the morphine-like stimulus effects of three opioid agonists. Rats were trained to discriminate 3.2 mg/kg morphine from saline under fixed-ratio 15 schedule of food reinforcement. Morphine, nalbuphine, and fentanyl produced dose-dependent increases in morphine-like stimulus effects and decreases in response rates. Repeated treatment with 20 mg/kg per day morphine increased the ED50 for stimulus control by fentanyl, morphine, or nalbuphine two-, four-, or 40-fold, respectively. Repeated treatment with 64 mg/kg per day nalbuphine increased the ED50 for stimulus control for morphine by two-fold, but lower or higher treatment doses had no significant effect. Treatment with 100 mg/kg per day nalbuphine increased the ED50 for nalbuphine by six-fold. Repeated treatment with 0.22 mg/kg per day fentanyl increased the ED50 for stimulus control by fentanyl or morphine by approximately two-fold. Comparisons among treatment conditions suggested that magnitude of tolerance to morphine-like stimulus effects did not vary as an inverse function of the relative efficacy of the agonist used for repeated treatment. Rather repeated morphine and fentanyl treatments produced comparable tolerance, whereas repeated nalbuphine treatment did not evoke substantial tolerance. Comparisons within treatment conditions, however, suggested that magnitude of tolerance may vary inversely with relative efficacy of the agonist tested for morphine-like stimulus effects. During treatment with morphine or fentanyl, greater tolerance was observed to the morphine-like stimulus effects of the lower efficacy agonist relative to the higher efficacy agonist.

Tolerance to Drug Discriminative Stimuli

Repeated encounters with a psychoactive drug create a potent opportunity for the drug to play a critical role in the development and expression of behavior. Repeated exposure can provide the behavioral conditions necessary for psychoactive drugs to function as conditional, reinforcing, or discriminative stimuli, controlling the acquisition and occurrence of complex behavioral repertoires (Thompson and Pickens, 1971). The actual role that a specific drug plays in shaping or guiding behavior depends upon the precise conditions of an individual’s prior and current contact with the drug. When conditions are arranged so that one behavioral repertoire is reinforced in the presence of a drug, and a second in its absence, each repertoire may become most probable in the presence of its correlated pharmacological stimulus. That is, execution of a particular behavioral repertoire discriminates the presence or absence of the drug, and the drug is said to exert discriminative stimulus control of behavior. Once established, such discriminative stimulus control by a drug persists for extended periods without requiring progressive increases in dose. The potential for serving as a robust and persistent discriminative stimulus appears to be a common characteristic of psychoactive drugs (see reviews by Schuster and Balster, 1977; Young, in press). Whether or not tolerance develops to the discriminative stimulus actions of psychoactive drugs is a topic of some debate. This chapter reviews the evidence.

Discriminative stimulus effects of two doses of fentanyl in rats: pharmacological selectivity and effect of training dose on agonist and antagonist effects of mu opioids

Abstract Rationale: Discriminative stimulus effects of mu opioids vary systematically as a function of training dose. Differences among training doses may arise from multiple mechanisms. Objectives: In vivo apparent pA2 analyses were used to examine the contributions of opioid mechanisms to stimulus control by low and high training doses of the mu opioid fentanyl. Methods: Saline and one of two doses of fentanyl, administered s.c., were established as discriminative stimuli in two groups of rats (low training dose group: 0.01 mg/kg; high training dose group: 0.04 mg/kg). Generalization tests and in vivo apparent pA2 analyses were used to evaluate receptor mechanisms of stimulus control. Results: Fentanyl, etonitazene, methadone, and morphine evoked full fentanyl generalization in both groups but were more potent in the low-dose group. Spiradoline and d-amphetamine did not evoke generalization in either group. Naltrexone antagonized stimulus and rate-altering effects of fentanyl in both groups, with apparent pA2 values of 7.6 in the low-dose group and 7.5 in the high-dose group. Nalbuphine and nalorphine evoked full generalization in the low-dose group but less than 40% generalization in the high-dose group. In the high-dose group, nalbuphine and nalorphine antagonized the stimulus and rate-altering effects of fentanyl with apparent pA2 values of 5.3 and 6.1, respectively, demonstrating lower efficacy mu actions. Conclusions: Changes in fentanyl training dose preserved the mu opioid selectivity of stimulus control but altered the intensity of the transduced mu opioid stimulus required for generalization. These differences in intensity of the fentanyl stimulus determined whether low efficacy mu opioids would evoke or antagonize fentanyl generalization.

Tolerance to morphine stimulus control: role of morphine maintenance dose

Experiments assessed the development of tolerance to morphine stimulus control during treatment with selected maintenance doses of morphine. Separate groups of rats were trained to discriminate saline and either 3.2 mg/kg or 5.6 mg/kg morphine under fixed-ratio schedules of food delivery. Dose-response functions for generalization of morphine stimulus control were determined before, during, and after repeated treatment with selected doses of morphine. Similar experiments were performed with repeated pentobarbital treatment in order to assess the pharmacological selectivity of tolerance. Repeated treatment with saline, 3.2 mg/kg morphine, or twice daily injections of 17.8 mg/kg pentobarbital produced no tolerance to morphine stimulus control. In contrast, treatment with daily injections of 10 mg/kg or twice daily injections of 10 or 17.8 mg/kg morphine produced a dose-dependent increase in the dose of morphine required for stimulus control. The magnitude of tolerance to morphine stimulus control varied directly with the maintenance dose of morphine and was slightly greater for a lower than a higher morphine training dose. Termination of repeated treatment was followed by a return to initial sensitivity, without additional training. Tolerance to morphine stimulus control was not necessarily accompanied by tolerance to its rate-suppressing effects.

Effects of prior saline-morphine discrimination by pigeons on three-way discrimination including two morphine doses

The discriminative stimulus properties of morphine sulfate (MS) and their alteration by naltrexone (NTX) and d-amphetamine (AMP) challenges were examined in a quantitative dose 1, dose 2, and saline (SAL) drug discrimination task utilizing 1.8 mg/kg MS, 10 mg/kg MS, and SAL as discriminative stimuli under a fixed-ratio 30 schedule of food-maintained behavior in two groups of White Carneaux pigeons. Group A (Gp A) (n=6) subjects (Ss) were initially experimentally-and drug-naive, whereas group B Ss (n=4) were originally trained in a two-choice MS versus SAL discrimination task, and had a long behavioral and drug history. Significant differences were found in (1) number of sessions to criterion (STC) (group B greater than group A); (2) group A Ss generalized both NTX and AMP to SAL, whereas group, B Ss generalized AMP to the low dose (1.8 mg/kg) MS stimulus; and (3) in drug interaction test sessions, the high dose MS stimulus (10 mg/kg) in group A was unmodified by a range of challenge AMP doses (0.32 to 3.2 mg/kg). In contrast, group B Ss exhibited a shift to the low dose or SAL-appropriate keys when the same high dose MS stimulus was challenged by moderate doses of AMP. Group A and group B were similar in their pattern and distribution of responses when tested with various doses of MS, and also when challenge tests of the high dose MS stimulus were made with NTX. Qualitative generalization tests with the opiate agonist methadone suggested that methadone was more potent than MS in producing the discriminative stimulus properties learned under the MS stimulus conditions. It is suggested that the three-choice dose 1, dose 2, SAL discrimination procedure is a viable model to test agonist and antagonist relationships.

Increased sensitivity to rate-altering and discriminative stimulus effects of morphine following continuous exposure to naltrexone

Two experiments evaluated whether termination of a continuous infusion of naltrexone altered sensitivity to the rate-suppressing or discriminative stimulus effects of morphine in rats. An 8-day infusion of saline or doses of 3, 10, or 18 mg/kg/day naltrexone did not alter rates of lever pressing maintained under fixed-ratio 30 schedules of food delivery. A dose of 10 mg/kg/day naltrexone produced insurmountable antagonism of the rate-suppressing and analgesic effects of morphine. The ED50 of morphine for rate suppression decreased by 2-fold 1 day after termination of the 8-day infusion of 10 or 18 mg/kg/day naltrexone. The ED50 of morphine returned to initial values within 8 days. Termination of infusion of either saline or 3 mg/kg/day naltrexone did not alter the ED50 of morphine. Changes in morphine stimulus control were evaluated in rats trained to discriminate saline and 3.2 mg/kg morphine under fixed-ratio 15 schedules of food delivery. The ED50 of morphine for stimulus control or rate suppression decreased by 2-fold 1 day after termination of an 8-day infusion of 18 mg/kg/day naltrexone. The ED50 of morphine for rate suppression returned to initial values within 3 days; that for stimulus control, within 5 days. Thus, termination of exposure to high doses of naltrexone produced brief changes in sensitivity to the rate-altering and discriminative stimulus effects of morphine that parallel reported changes in sensitivity to the analgesic and lethal effects of morphine.