Response topography in behavioral tolerance to cocaine with rats

Research conducted with rats has shown tolerance to the behavioral effects of psychomotor stimulants to be contingent on chronic drug administration occurring before the experimental session. Recent experiments with pigeons, however, resulted in tolerance when drug administration followed the experimental session. We hypothesized that the apparent species differences in tolerance may be a function of different operantly conditioned response topographies used in these experiments. Specifically, we propose that operantly reinforced consummatory responses, like pecking with pigeons, are less likely to reveal contingent tolerance. This experiment involved rats in a manner that paralleled earlier experiments with pigeons. Rats were subjected to daily sessions that required 20 licking responses to obtain 2.5-s access to water. Acute effects of cocaine were determined by administering precession doses ranging from 1.0 to 30.0 mg/kg, with dosing occurring every fifth day. Rats were then divided into two groups. One group received 17.0 mg/kg cocaine before the session and the other received 17.0 mg/kg cocaine after the session. After 30 daily sessions, the effects of the cocaine-dose range were reassessed. Tolerance to the rate-decreasing effects of cocaine was evident in both the groups, regardless of the temporal relationship between drug administration and the experimental session. The results support the hypothesis that operantly reinforced consummatory responses are less likely to show contingent tolerance.