Methods of deconditioning persisting avoidance: Amphetamine, chlorpromazine, and chlordiazepoxide as adjuncts to response prevention

Methods of deconditioning persisting avoidance: Drugs as adjuncts to response prevention

“…Our initial testing of psychotropic agents as adjuncts to RP (Christy & Reid, 1975;Cooper, Coon, Mejta, & Reid, 1974) confirmed the results of others (e.g., Kamano, 1972;Miller, 1961), indicating that some drugs used as adjuncts to RP either reduced the usual effectiveness of RP or led to heightened persisting avoidance. Chlorpromazine, chlordiaze-poxide, and sodium amy tal, at some doses, calmed the rat during RP but subsequently led to more persisting avoidance than would have been expected had the rat received no RP.…”

“…In the human clinic, drugs have been used successfully as adjuncts to systematic desensitization (Brady, 1966;Friedman, 1966;Kraft, 1967), but the agents used have been short-acting barbiturates. As Cooper et al (1974) suggested, it appears that drugs blocking, or producing prolonged blunting of, the expression of fear do not provide the circumstances for the fear to be reconditioned (Wolpe's, 1973, term) by a counter-conditioner or to be extinguished. It makes little practical difference exactly what mechanism is responsible for the lack of effect (Cooper et aI., 1974).…”

“…In other studies (Christy & Reid, 1975;Cooper et al, 1974), it was demonstrated that small doses of amphetamine were efficient adjuncts to RP. This study failed to demonstrate that amphetamine dosing led to less persisting avoidance.…”

“…It has been shown that ethanol, chlorpromazine, and chlordiazepoxide are not efficient adjuncts to RP (Baum, 1969;Cooper et al, 1974;Kamano, 1972).…”

Methods of deconditioning persisting avoidance: Amphetamine and amobarbital as adjuncts to response prevention

“…When rats are in RP and under the influence of drugs classed as tranquilizers or relaxants, their persisting avoidance is either enhanced or not different than rats given similar treatments without the drugs (Cooper, Coon, Mejta, & Reid, 1974;Kamano, 1972). When amphetamine was tested in low doses (Cooper et aI., 1974), it was found that RP under its influence led to a marked reduction in persisting avoidance_ Because these results are divergent from certain expectations, this study again tested amphetamine's effects as well as the effects of amobarbital.…”