Context-dependent cocaine sensitization: differential effect of haloperidol on development versus expression

Repeated, intermittent administration of psychomotor stimulants has been shown to produce increasing effects (behavioral sensitization) in many species of animals. In a novel two-day sensitization paradigm, rats that received a single high dose of cocaine (40 mg/kg) compared with saline on day 1 showed an increased locomotor response to a challenge dose (10 mg/kg) on day 2. This effect is conditioned or context-dependent; i.e., it is only observed if the rats received cocaine in an environment similar to the test environment. If the cocaine-induced hyperactivity on day 1 is prevented with pharmacological agents such as haloperidol and diazepam, sensitization on day 2 does not occur. Furthermore, although moderate (0.2 mg/kg) and high doses (0.5 mg/kg) of haloperidol (day 1) prevented the development of sensitization to cocaine, they were ineffective when given prior to the day 2 challenge dose in preventing the expression of sensitization. Thus, this type of cocaine sensitization appears to involve conditioning, show stimulus generalization, and offer a possible model for clinical neuroleptic nonresponsiveness once stimulant-induced pathological behavior has been induced.