Effect of repeated intraperitoneal injections of soman on schedule-controlled behavior in the rat

Intraperitoneal (IP) administration of the acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, soman (10-40 micrograms/kg), suppressed in a dose-related manner response rates in rats maintained under a multiple fixed-interval 50-s fixed-ratio 25 schedule of food delivery. Chronic administration of soman at weekly intervals resulted in tolerance to the response. When soman administration was separated by 2-5 weeks in individual rats, the suppressive effects of the agent again became apparent. Analysis of acetylcholinesterase activity revealed that enzyme inhibition was limited to gastrointestinal areas near the site of injection. There was no significant effect on brain acetylcholinesterase even following IP injection of doses which completely suppressed responding. The IP route may be useful for studying tolerance and other chronic effects of soman without producing generalized toxicity.