A single administration of d-amphetamine prior to stimulus pre-exposure and conditioning attenuates latent inhibition

The effect of a single administration of d-amphetamine (0.32 mg/kg, s.c.) upon latent inhibition (LI) in a one-session pre-exposure and conditioning procedure was investigated in rats in a conditioned emotional response paradigm. It was found that amphetamine attenuated LI. The effects could not be attributed to differences in unconditioned suppression nor to differences in response rates between the experimental groups. These results support the observations of Dunn and suggest that the disruption of LI may not depend upon a complex interaction between changes in neuronal processes consequent upon repetitive amphetamine administration and the schedule with which the drug is administered during the experimental procedure.