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Updated: Aug 24, 2026

A Conditioned Place Preference Protocol for Measuring Incubation of Craving in Rats
Published on: November 6, 2018
Effects of oxazepam on methamphetamine-induced conditioned place preference
James E Goeders1, Nick E Goeders
1Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics and Psychiatry, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, 1501 Kings Highway, P.O. Box 33932, Shreveport, LA 71130-3932, USA.
Abstract:
Our laboratory has been investigating the role for the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and benzodiazepines in the behavioral effects of cocaine for several years now. The following represents our initial investigation of the influence of benzodiazepines on methamphetamine reward using conditioned place preference. In these experiments, methamphetamine (0.5 mg/kg ip) resulted in a robust conditioned place preference that was attenuated when the rats were pretreated with oxazepam (10 mg/kg ip) on the day of preference testing. These data suggest a potential role for benzodiazepines in the behavioral effects of methamphetamine. Additional research will be necessary to determine if the nature of these effects is similar with what has been observed with cocaine.
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