The effects of chronic amphetamine administration on the acquisition and extinction of an active and passive...

Long-term amphetamine treatment had no effect on the acquisition or retention of an active or passive avoidance response. In both tasks, however, mice withdrawn from chronic amphetamine administration showed a resistance to extinction relative to control animals. These findings were related to the effects of long-term amphetamine administration on attentional processes. Possible neurochemical mechanisms governing the attentional deficits induced by chronic exposure to amphetamine were discussed.