Buprenorphine effects on food-maintained responding in Macaque monkeys.

Area of Science:

• Pharmacology
• Behavioral Neuroscience

Background:

• Buprenorphine is an opioid mixed agonist-antagonist with complex effects.
• Understanding its impact on feeding behavior is crucial for clinical applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the acute and chronic effects of buprenorphine on food-maintained responding in Macaque monkeys.
• To investigate potential tolerance development to buprenorphine's effects on appetite.

Main Methods:

• Macaque monkeys were administered buprenorphine acutely or allowed chronic self-administration.
• Food-maintained responding was measured using a fixed-ratio (FR 4) or variable-ratio (VR 16:S) schedule of reinforcement.
• Heroin self-administration was also studied during chronic buprenorphine treatment.

Main Results:

• Acute buprenorphine administration suppressed food-maintained responding at higher doses (0.10 and 0.30 mg/kg).
• Chronic buprenorphine self-administration did not significantly suppress food intake, even at high daily doses.
• Chronic heroin self-administration also did not alter food intake during buprenorphine treatment.

Conclusions:

• Macaque monkeys develop tolerance to the acute food intake suppressive effects of buprenorphine during chronic self-administration.
• These findings suggest that buprenorphine's impact on appetite may be dose-dependent and subject to tolerance.
• The study provides insights into the long-term behavioral effects of buprenorphine relevant to addiction treatment.