Abstract
Rationale: Benzodiazepines are among the most frequently prescribed drugs and are usually taken by mouth. However, there have been few studies of oral self-administration of these drugs, and the results of IV self-administration studies indicate that benzodiazepines are modest reinforcers. Objectives: To determine if orally delivered alprazolam, diazepam, and triazolam could serve as reinforcers for rhesus monkeys, and to determine some of the conditions under which benzodiazepine reinforced behavior occurs. Methods: Diazepam or midazolam was initially established as a reinforcer by a fading procedure whereby increasing concentrations were added to a 1 or 2% ethanol solution, and subsequently the ethanol concentration was decreased in steps to zero. Diazepam- and midazolam-reinforced responding persisted in the absence of ethanol. Triazolam and alprazolam served as reinforcers when substituted for diazepam or midazolam. Results: Alprazolam, diazepam, and triazolam served as effective reinforcers across a wide range of concentrations and under fixed-ratio sizes of 16 and 32. Rates of responding were usually far higher than that for the concurrently available vehicle, water. Drug intake (mg drug/kg body weight) generally increased with increases in drug concentration. When large drug amounts were consumed, signs of intoxication were observed. Conclusions: In contrast to reports of low response rates and weakly maintained behavior, the present results show that the three benzodiazepines can serve as effective reinforcers.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 86-94 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Psychopharmacology |
Volume | 161 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2002 |
Keywords
- Acquisition
- Alprazolam
- Benzodiazepine
- Diazepam
- Drug reinforcement
- Oral route
- Rhesus monkey
- Self-administration
- Triazolam
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pharmacology