Contingent and noncontingent cocaine administration in rhesus monkeys: a comparison of the effects on the acquisition and performance of response sequences

Abstract

Previous studies have suggested that the effects of contingent (response dependent) and noncontingent (response independent) cocaine administration may differ, which could limit the generality and validity of laboratory studies that use only noncontingent administration. Therefore, two separate three-component multiple schedules of operant responding were used to examine the effects of both types of cocaine administration on the acquisition and performance of response sequences, in four rhesus monkeys. In one multiple schedule, responding under a fixed-ratio (FR) 60 schedule was followed by intravenous (i.v.) saline or cocaine (0.0032-0.32 mg/kg per infusion), whereas responding in the other two components (i.e. acquisition and performance) was followed by food presentation. In the second multiple schedule, the cocaine administration component consisted of a variable-time (VT) schedule that mimicked each subject's pattern of self-administration. When compared to saline administration, increasing infusion doses of cocaine decreased overall response rates comparably in both food-maintained components, irrespective of the cocaine contingency. The 0.1-0.32 mg/kg infusion doses also increased the percentage of errors in 2 of 4 subjects; however, these disruptions in accuracy were not differentially associated with the type of cocaine administration and generally occurred at doses that produced large rate-decreasing effects. Taken together, these data suggest that the effects of cocaine on complex operant behavior in monkeys may not differ substantially as a function of contingent or noncontingent administration.

Drug-Primed Reinstatement of Cocaine Seeking in Mice: Increased Excitability of Medium-Sized Spiny Neurons in the Nucleus Accumbens

“…After a longer withdrawal period from cocaine exposure with a non-contingent cocaine history, a decrease in intrinsic excitability occurs in MSNs, at least in the shell compartment. However, previous studies have also suggested that the effects of contingent and non-contingent cocaine administration may differ quantitatively or qualitatively, which could limit the generality and validity of laboratory studies that use primarily non-contingent administration (Winsauer et al, 2003). Only a handful of studies have examined the functional output of NAc MSNs in the cocaine contingent administration model (Mu et al, 2010).…”

Human Methamphetamine Pharmacokinetics Simulated in the Rat: Behavioral and Neurochemical Effects of a 72-h Binge

“…The resultant behavioral and neurochemical effects should be interpreted predominantly as a function of exposure to the METH and AMPH plasma concentrations that were achieved with passive drug administration throughout this study, since qualitatively different behavioral and/or neurochemical consequences may sometimes occur depending on whether the stimulant is self- or experimenter-administered (see, for example (Stefanski et al, 1999; Jacobs et al, 2003), although see (Winsauer et al, 2003; Kiyatkin and Brown, 2004; Stuber et al, 2005))…”

Influence of cocaine self-administration on learning related to prefrontal cortex or hippocampus functioning in rats

“…Although numerous animal studies report a variety of physiological and neurochemical distinctions between contingent and noncontingent cocaine exposure (Wilson et al 1994;Hemby et al 1997;Broadbear et al 1999;Kuzmin and Johansson 1999;Galici et al 2000;Porrino and Lyons 2000;Crespo et al 2002;Smith et al 2003), it is relatively unknown if these physiological and neurochemical differences have functional behavioral consequences. For example, it was reported that the effects of cocaine on complex operant behavior in monkeys did not differ substantially as a function of contingent or noncontingent drug administration (Winsauer et al 2003).…”