Human d-amphetamine drug discrimination: methamphetamine and hydromorphone

Area of Science:

• Psychopharmacology
• Behavioral Neuroscience
• Drug Abuse Research

Background:

• Standard subjective measures and drug discrimination procedures are key tools in psychopharmacology.
• Understanding the relationship between discriminative stimulus control and subjective drug effects is crucial for drug research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare standard subjective measures with drug discrimination effects in human volunteers.
• To investigate how different drugs (d-amphetamine, methamphetamine, hydromorphone) affect behavior and self-reported experiences.

Main Methods:

• Human volunteers were trained on a second-order color-tracking procedure using d-amphetamine as a discriminative stimulus.
• Subjects completed questionnaires (single-dose, Addiction Research Center Inventory, analogue scales) to assess subjective effects.
• Doses of d-amphetamine, methamphetamine, and hydromorphone were administered, and responses were recorded.

Main Results:

• Methamphetamine and d-amphetamine increased responding appropriate to d-amphetamine and were identified as "speed."
• Hydromorphone did not increase d-amphetamine-appropriate responding but was identified as "dope."
• All tested drugs increased "drug liking" and specific Addiction Research Center Inventory scales.

Conclusions:

• Drug discrimination can predict some subjective effects (like drug identification) but not all.
• Combining drug discrimination with subjective measures offers a comprehensive approach to studying psychoactive drugs.
• This methodology aids in characterizing novel compounds and understanding the behavioral biology of drugs.