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Original Article |
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Neuropsychopharmacology (1998) 19 406-416.10.1038/sj.npp.1395219
Clonidine Blocks Acquisition But not Expression of Conditioned Opiate Withdrawal in Rats
Gery Schulteis1,2 Ph.D, Luis Stinus3 Ph.D, Victoria B Risbrough1 BA and George F Koob1 Ph.D |
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1Department of Neuropharmacology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla USA
2Department of Anesthesiology, U.C. San Diego School of Medicine, San Diego, California, USA
3Laboratoire de Neuropsychobiologie des Desadaptations, Université de Bordeaux II, Bordeaux, Cedex, France
Correspondence: Dr Gery Schulteis, Department of Anesthesiology, VAMC 125, U.C. San Diego School of Medicine, 3350 La Jolla Village Drive, San Diego, CA 92161-5085, USA
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ABSTRACT
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Previous studies in rodents have reported that clonidine, an  2-adrenergic receptor agonist, attenuated conditioned aversions to naloxone-precipitated opiate withdrawal when administeredprior to each withdrawal conditioning episode. The current study was designed to determine whether clonidine could modify the expression ofpreviously established conditioned place aversions and conditioned suppression of operant responding. Dose- and time-dependent effects of clonidine on activity and suppression of operant responding for food identified appropriate treatment parameters for subsequent studies in which rats rendered dependent on opiates through implantation of morphine pellets were tested for: (1) conditioned place aversion; and (2) conditioned suppression of operant responding for food (fixed ratio-15 schedule), in a paradigm wherein rats received four pairings of naloxone with a distinct tone and odor stimulus. Clonidine dose-dependently blocked the acquisition of both conditioned behaviors when administered prior to naloxone on each conditioning trial, but was ineffective in blocking the expression of these conditioned withdrawal signs when administered prior to the test session.
Keywords: Clonidine; Opiate dependence; Opiate withdrawal; Conditioning; Naloxone |
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