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Related Experiment Videos

Conditioned tolerance in human opiate addicts.

R Ehrman1, J Ternes, C P O'Brien

  • 1Philadelphia Veterans Medical Center, PA 19104.

Psychopharmacology
|January 1, 1992
PubMed
Summary
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Drug tolerance, a reduced drug effect, can be conditioned. In former opioid users, self-injection rituals triggered drug-opposite responses, reducing opioid effects compared to un-signaled infusions.

Area of Science:

  • Pharmacology
  • Neuroscience
  • Behavioral Science

Background:

  • Repeated opioid administration leads to tolerance, diminishing drug efficacy.
  • Pre-clinical studies suggest a role for conditioning in the development of drug tolerance.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of conditioned responses in opioid tolerance.
  • To compare the effects of signaled self-administration versus un-signaled infusion of opioids.

Main Methods:

  • Six former opioid-dependent subjects participated in a double-blind study.
  • Opioid administration was compared under two conditions: signaled self-injection and un-signaled intravenous infusion.
  • Physiological responses and drug effects were measured.

Main Results:

Related Experiment Videos

  • Opioid self-injection, preceded by pre-injection rituals, produced drug-opposite physiological responses.
  • These conditioned responses attenuated the opioid's effects, demonstrating tolerance.
  • No significant tolerance was observed with the same opioid dose administered via un-signaled infusion.

Conclusions:

  • The study provides evidence for a conditioning component in opioid tolerance.
  • Pre-injection rituals act as conditioned stimuli, eliciting compensatory responses that reduce drug effects.
  • These findings support the hypothesis that learned associations contribute to drug tolerance.