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Inescapable shock alters mescaline's disruption of active avoidance acquisition
Psychopharmacology
|January 1, 1981
Summary
Stressors like inescapable shock alter how mescaline affects rat behavior. While mescaline disrupts learning in unstressed rats, it has no effect in stressed rats, suggesting a complex interaction between stress and hallucinogen effects.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Behavioral Pharmacology
- Psychopharmacology
Background:
- The effects of hallucinogens like mescaline on behavior are complex and can be influenced by various factors.
- Stressors are known to modulate neurochemical systems and behavioral responses.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the interaction between prior stress (inescapable shock) and the effects of mescaline on learning in rats.
- To determine if stress exposure alters the behavioral disruption caused by mescaline.
Main Methods:
- Rats were trained on a two-way avoidance acquisition task.
- One group received inescapable shock 24 hours prior to training, while the control group did not.
- Mescaline was administered in various doses to both groups, and its effect on acquisition was measured.
- Subchronic mescaline treatment (5 days) was also assessed.
Main Results:
- Mescaline disrupted two-way avoidance acquisition in a dose-dependent manner in non-shocked rats.
- Tolerance to the disruptive effects of mescaline developed with repeated exposure.
- In rats that received prior shock, mescaline had no disruptive effect on acquisition.
- Subchronic mescaline treatment facilitated acquisition in both shocked and non-shocked rats.
Conclusions:
- Prior exposure to inescapable shock significantly alters the behavioral effects of mescaline.
- Stressors may attenuate the disruptive effects of mescaline on learning.
- These findings highlight a critical interaction between stress and hallucinogen action, suggesting that environmental context influences psychopharmacological outcomes.