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Published on: January 22, 2016
Persistent expression of methamphetamine-induced CTA in periadolescent rats
Steven B Harrod1, Ryan T Lacy, Lauren E Ballina
1Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, 1512 Pendleton St., Columbia, SC 29208, USA. harrods@mailbox.sc.edu
Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior
|July 27, 2010
Summary
Adolescent rats remember methamphetamine
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Adolescence to adulthood involves significant changes in motivated behavior and drug responses.
- Memory for drug-induced aversions during this transition is not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate methamphetamine-induced conditioned taste aversion (CTA) memory in periadolescent rats.
- To determine if CTA memory magnitude changes across retention intervals spanning adolescence to adulthood.
Main Methods:
- Peripubescent rats received saccharin paired with saline or methamphetamine.
- Memory for CTA was assessed 1 or 50 days later, extending into adulthood.
- Single or repeated drug pairings were used during conditioning.
Main Results:
- Rats showed strong methamphetamine-induced CTA one and 50 days post-conditioning.
- Memory strength remained consistent regardless of retention interval length.
- The number of conditioning pairings did not affect memory persistence.
Conclusions:
- Methamphetamine-induced conditioned taste aversion memory is stable throughout the periadolescence-to-adulthood transition.
- Memory for drug's aversive effects resists degradation across this critical developmental period.
