Experiments are proposed in two areas relating to the stimulus properties of Drugs. Project 1 will investigate whether centrally acting drugs can become conditioned stimuli in classical conditioning paradigms, thus acquiring conditioned reactions that may augment or interfere with the usual effects of the drugs. Five experiments are proposed to determine the ease of formation of such conditioned reactions to drug conditioned stimuli, the variety of situations in which they occur, and the rapidity with which they extinguish. Project 2 will test for the occurrence of stimulus masking in the drug discrimination preparation to determine whether this is a frequent or rare phenomenon. The results will indicate whether masking is a serious source of artefact in normal applications of the drug discrimination procedure. A total of 6 separate experiments are proposed.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
2R01MH025136-10A1
Application #
3374911
Study Section
(BPNA)
Project Start
1978-06-01
Project End
1989-11-30
Budget Start
1986-12-01
Budget End
1987-11-30
Support Year
10
Fiscal Year
1987
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Temple University
Department
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
City
Philadelphia
State
PA
Country
United States
Zip Code
19122
Overton, D A; Shen, C F; Tatham, T A (1993) Centrally acting drugs act as conditioned stimuli in a conditioned suppression of drinking task. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 112:270-6
Overton, D A; Shen, C F (1988) Comparison of four-drug discriminations in training compartments with four identical levers versus four different responses manipulanda. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 30:879-88
Overton, D A (1988) Similarities and differences between behavioral control by drug-produced stimuli and by sensory stimuli. Psychopharmacol Ser 4:176-98
Overton, D A; Leonard, W R; Merkle, D A (1986) Methods for measuring the strength of discriminable drug effects. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 10:251-63