Tolerance to effects of cocaine on schedule-controlled behavior: effects of fixed-interval schedule parameter

Tolerance to the effects of cocaine on key pecking by pigeons, maintained by differently valued fixed-interval schedules of food presentation, was studied. Key pecking was established on a multiple fixed-interval 5-sec fixed-interval 30-sec fixed-interval 120-sec schedule. Cocaine (1.0-10.0 mg/kg) was administered acutely and then chronically (i.e., before each session) in 5.6 mg/kg doses. Acute cocaine administration produced dose-related decreases in response rates under all three schedules. When cocaine was administered chronically, response rates either recovered fully, or increased to the extent that no reinforcers were missed during the sessions. The development of tolerance was not systematically related to the schedule value. Considered in relation to previous research, these results indicate that different control rates of reinforcement, within the schedules and parameters studied, do not contribute to tolerance to cocaine's behavioral effects.