Comparison of this data with other non-human primate species and humans highlights similarities and disparities between species. Potential causes of interpopulation variability and relevance to the use of the African green monkey as a non-human primate model are discussed.

The results of this investigation suggest that low-level lead exposure during gestation and lactation increases sensitivity to the relapse phase of drug abuse. It is further apparent that this increased sensitivity to the reinstatement of drug-seeking behavior is long-lasting.

The rate of acquisition of drug self-administration may serve as a predictor of later drug-taking behavior, possibly influencing the vulnerability to use drugs. The present study examined the effects of perinatal (gestation/lactation) lead exposure on adult rates of acquisition of intravenous cocaine self-administration using an automated procedure that included both Pavlovian and operant components. For Experiment 1, female rats were gavaged daily with 0 or 16 mg lead for 30 days prior to breeding with nonexposed males. Metal administration continued through pregnancy and lactation and was discontinued at weaning (postnatal day (PND) 21). Animals born to control or lead-exposed dams subsequently were tested daily as adults in a preparation where sessions included an initial 3-h autoshaping period followed by a 3-h self-administration period where 0.20 mg/kg cocaine was delivered contingently. During autoshaping, intravenous cocaine infusions were paired with the extension and retraction of a lever, while infusions occurred during selfadministration only when a lever press was executed (FR-1). The criterion for acquisition was a 2-day period during which a mean of 50 infusions/session occurred during self-administration. Animals were given 35 days to reach criterion. In Experiment 1, accelerated rates of acquisition of cocaine self-administration were evident for lead-exposed animals relative to controls. Overall, the number of selfadministered cocaine infusions per session was significantly higher for lead-exposed rats as compared to control rats. Experiment 2 replicated Experiment 1 except that a higher dose of cocaine (0.80 mg/kg) was employed as the reinforcer, and 30 infusions/session was the set criterion. At the higher cocaine dose (Experiment 2), acquisition rates for control and lead-exposed animals were not markedly different, and significantly different infusion rates were not observed.

These results support previous literature suggesting that perinatal exposure to inorganic lead attenuates the effectiveness of opiates as a reinforcer when animals are tested in the adult life cycle.

Conditioned place preference (CPP), a commonly used model for studying the role of contextual cues in drug reward and drug seeking, was employed to explore possible behavioral interactions between (±)3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA; "ecstasy") and cocaine. On each of four occasions, adult male rats received one of three doses of MDMA (0 mg/kg, 5 mg/kg, 10 mg/kg; administered subcutaneously [s.c.]) combined with one of three doses of cocaine (0 mg/kg, 2.5 mg/ kg, 5 mg/kg; administered intraperitoneally [i.p.]), and were then tested in a CPP paradigm. The results showed MDMA-induced CPP at a unit dose of 5 mg/kg, but at the 10 mg/kg dose there was a return to baseline (control) performance levels. For cocaine alone, CPP increased in a linear fashion as the drug dose was increased. Concurrent administration resulted in antagonism of each drug, but there was evidence that this pattern was reversible at higher doses of the respective drugs. These data are instructive insofar as they suggest that the behavioral and neurochemical effects of MDMA and cocaine presented in isolation are dramatically altered when the two drugs are presented in combination.