Scopolamine and amphetamine effects on discrimination: interaction with stimulus control

A parametric examination of the interaction between drug-induced behavioral changes and the degree of predrug stimulus control was conducted with rats. A discretetrial simultaneous discrimination was used, with the controlling stimuli varied over 6 values of distinctiveness. The effects of graded doses of scopolamine, d-amphetamine, and methylscopolamine on these performances were studied, with both scopolamine and d-amphetamine showing no increase in error rate under strong stimulus control, and dose-related increases in error rate under weak stimulus control. The similar interaction between drug effect and stimulus control for scopolamine and d-amphetamine indicates that the interaction reflects the degree of susceptibility of the behaviors to drug action, rather than two specific drug-behavior interactions. Methylscopolamine produced a slight effect on error rate and no significant interaction with stimulus control. A decrease in the number of trials responded to was found with both scopolamine and methylscopolamine, but not with d-amphetamine.