Related Experiment Videos
Drug discrimination using a Pavlovian conditional discrimination paradigm in pigeons
B K Parker1, D W Schaal, M Miller
1Department of Psychology, West Virginia University, Morgantown 26506-6040.
Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior
|December 1, 1994
Summary
Pigeons learned to associate methadone (a drug) with specific light cues for food rewards. Different doses of methadone influenced their choices, showing dose-dependent stimulus control.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral neuroscience
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Autoshaping procedures are used to study associative learning in animals.
- Opioid drugs like methadone can alter stimulus control in learned behaviors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate stimulus control by methadone in pigeons using a discriminated autoshaping paradigm.
- To determine if other drugs (morphine, cocaine, pentobarbital) generalize to methadone's stimulus effects.
Main Methods:
- Pigeons were trained with a conditional discrimination where methadone presence/absence signaled different visual stimuli (CS+/CS-) associated with reward.
- Dose-response curves for methadone, morphine, cocaine, and pentobarbital were assessed during extinction trials.
Main Results:
- Pigeons developed over 80% accuracy in responding to the appropriate stimulus based on methadone's presence or absence.
- Methadone exhibited dose-dependent stimulus control, with higher doses mimicking drug-associated cues.
- Morphine generalized to methadone's stimulus effects, while cocaine and pentobarbital did not.
Conclusions:
- Methadone acts as a discriminative stimulus in pigeons, with its effects being dose-dependent.
- Opioid drugs share some stimulus properties, but other drug classes like stimulants and sedatives do not generalize to methadone's specific cue effects.