In view of similarities between the behavioral, biochemical, and electrophysiological effects of amphetamine and stress, we tested the hypothesis that presentation of a stressor, mild tail pressure, can sensitize an animal to the later effects of amphetamine, and vice versa. Our findings supported this hypothesis and suggest that amphetamine and at least some stressors may be interchangeable in their ability to induce a sensitization. The data raise the possibility that stress might be a common variable contributing to both amphetamine psychosis and some forms of schizophrenia.

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Sniffing and licking components of amphetamine-induced stereotypy were studied separately during chronic drug treatment. Sniffing showed a gradual increase, or sensitization, in intensity and duration. By contrast, licking developed tolerance for approximately the first 21 days, followed by a progressive increase. Stereotypy is therefore not a homogeneous phenomenon, and sniffing and licking are probably subserved by distinct neuroanatomic substrates. The sensitization of sniffing behavior may be related to the induction of amphetamine-induced paranoid psychosis in humans.

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