The effects of methadone on operant behavior maintained with and without conditioned reinforcement in the pigeon

Effects of methadone on key pecking supplemented with brief stimuli either correlated with or independent of unconditioned reinforcement was investigated. On average, key pecks by pigeons produced brief stimuli (BS) once per minute and food once per 4 min during both components of a multiple schedule (i.e., VI1 : BS, VI4 : Food). Brief stimuli were paired with food presentation during one component and not related to food during the second component. Acute methadone administration (0.56, 1.0, 1.7, and 3.0 mg/kg) decreased response rates during both components; however, the decrease was smaller by a constant amount during the paired brief stimulus component, regardless of drug dose. These results suggest conditioned reinforcement is not a primary mechanism through which methadone exerts behavioral effects and that reinforcer-correlated stimuli have potential for diminishing the reduced behavioral output observed following methadone administration.