Abstract
Rationale: One possible basis for the proclivity of ethanol and nicotine co-abuse is an interaction between the discriminative stimulus (SD) effects of each drug. Objectives: The current work sought to assess the discriminative control of ethanol and nicotine cues in mice trained with drug mixtures and to determine whether interactive mechanisms of overshadowing and potentiation occur. Methods: Male C57BL/6J mice were trained to discriminate ethanol (1.5 g/kg) alone or ethanol plus nicotine (0.4, 0.8, or 1.2 mg/kg base) in experiment 1 and nicotine (0.8 mg/kg) alone or nicotine plus ethanol (0.5, 1.0, or 2.0 g/kg) in experiment 2. Stimulus generalizations of the training mixtures to ethanol, nicotine, and the drug combination were assessed. Results: Ethanol (1.5 g/kg) retained discriminative control despite the inclusion of a progressively larger nicotine dose within the training mixtures in experiment 1. Although the nicotine SD was overshadowed by ethanol training doses > 0.5 g/kg in experiment 2, nicotine did potentiate the effects of low-dose ethanol. Conclusions: These findings are suggestive of dual mechanisms whereby ethanol (>0.5 g/kg) overshadows the SD effects of nicotine, and at lower doses (D effects is potentiated by nicotine. These mechanisms may contribute to the escalation of concurrent drinking and smoking in a binge-like fashion.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 537-548 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | Psychopharmacology |
| Volume | 224 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 2012 |
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Keywords
- Alcohol
- Discriminative stimulus
- Drug discrimination
- Ethanol
- Mice
- Nicotine
- Overshadowing
- Potentiation
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pharmacology
Cite this
Discrimination of ethanol-nicotine drug mixtures in mice : Dual interactive mechanisms of overshadowing and potentiation. / Ford, Matthew; McCracken, Aubrey D.; Davis, Natalie L.; Ryabinin, Andrey; Grant, Kathleen (Kathy).
In: Psychopharmacology, Vol. 224, No. 4, 12.2012, p. 537-548.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Discrimination of ethanol-nicotine drug mixtures in mice
T2 - Dual interactive mechanisms of overshadowing and potentiation
AU - Ford, Matthew
AU - McCracken, Aubrey D.
AU - Davis, Natalie L.
AU - Ryabinin, Andrey
AU - Grant, Kathleen (Kathy)
PY - 2012/12
Y1 - 2012/12
N2 - Rationale: One possible basis for the proclivity of ethanol and nicotine co-abuse is an interaction between the discriminative stimulus (SD) effects of each drug. Objectives: The current work sought to assess the discriminative control of ethanol and nicotine cues in mice trained with drug mixtures and to determine whether interactive mechanisms of overshadowing and potentiation occur. Methods: Male C57BL/6J mice were trained to discriminate ethanol (1.5 g/kg) alone or ethanol plus nicotine (0.4, 0.8, or 1.2 mg/kg base) in experiment 1 and nicotine (0.8 mg/kg) alone or nicotine plus ethanol (0.5, 1.0, or 2.0 g/kg) in experiment 2. Stimulus generalizations of the training mixtures to ethanol, nicotine, and the drug combination were assessed. Results: Ethanol (1.5 g/kg) retained discriminative control despite the inclusion of a progressively larger nicotine dose within the training mixtures in experiment 1. Although the nicotine SD was overshadowed by ethanol training doses > 0.5 g/kg in experiment 2, nicotine did potentiate the effects of low-dose ethanol. Conclusions: These findings are suggestive of dual mechanisms whereby ethanol (>0.5 g/kg) overshadows the SD effects of nicotine, and at lower doses (D effects is potentiated by nicotine. These mechanisms may contribute to the escalation of concurrent drinking and smoking in a binge-like fashion.
AB - Rationale: One possible basis for the proclivity of ethanol and nicotine co-abuse is an interaction between the discriminative stimulus (SD) effects of each drug. Objectives: The current work sought to assess the discriminative control of ethanol and nicotine cues in mice trained with drug mixtures and to determine whether interactive mechanisms of overshadowing and potentiation occur. Methods: Male C57BL/6J mice were trained to discriminate ethanol (1.5 g/kg) alone or ethanol plus nicotine (0.4, 0.8, or 1.2 mg/kg base) in experiment 1 and nicotine (0.8 mg/kg) alone or nicotine plus ethanol (0.5, 1.0, or 2.0 g/kg) in experiment 2. Stimulus generalizations of the training mixtures to ethanol, nicotine, and the drug combination were assessed. Results: Ethanol (1.5 g/kg) retained discriminative control despite the inclusion of a progressively larger nicotine dose within the training mixtures in experiment 1. Although the nicotine SD was overshadowed by ethanol training doses > 0.5 g/kg in experiment 2, nicotine did potentiate the effects of low-dose ethanol. Conclusions: These findings are suggestive of dual mechanisms whereby ethanol (>0.5 g/kg) overshadows the SD effects of nicotine, and at lower doses (D effects is potentiated by nicotine. These mechanisms may contribute to the escalation of concurrent drinking and smoking in a binge-like fashion.
KW - Alcohol
KW - Discriminative stimulus
KW - Drug discrimination
KW - Ethanol
KW - Mice
KW - Nicotine
KW - Overshadowing
KW - Potentiation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84871613900&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84871613900&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s00213-012-2781-2
DO - 10.1007/s00213-012-2781-2
M3 - Article
C2 - 22763667
AN - SCOPUS:84871613900
VL - 224
SP - 537
EP - 548
JO - Psychopharmacology
JF - Psychopharmacology
SN - 0033-3158
IS - 4
ER -