Plasma cocaine levels and locomotor activity after systemic injection in virgin and in lactating maternal female rats

Vernotica, Ellen M.; Morrell, J. I.

doi:10.1016/s0031-9384(98)00092-4

Cited by 22 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Brief separations of females from pups during CPP conditioning and test sessions mimicked time periods naturally spent away from the nest by mother rats (Grota and Ader 1974;Pereira et al 2008) and did not affect litter growth or development (Wansaw et al 2008). Thus, neither our cocaine administration parameters nor our brief female-pup deprivations negatively affected females or their litters, in accord with our prior work (Vernotica and Morrell 1998;Mattson et al 2001;Seip and Morrell 2007).…”

Section: Subjectssupporting

confidence: 75%

“…The present analyses importantly extend our characterization of cocaine-induced locomotion in the postpartum female (Vernotica and Morrell 1998;Wansaw et al 2005) during the CPP procedure, providing important points of comparison with the well-documented behavioral effects of cocaine in virgin female and male rats (Sell et al 2000;Chin et al 2002;. Following 10 mg/kg IP cocaine injections, locomotor sensitization emerged rapidly in cocaine-preferring but not saline-preferring postpartum females after only four exposures, replicating the induction phase of sensitization reported by others (Post and Rose 1976) and supporting proposed correlations between cocaine's motoric and motivational effects (Wise and Bozarth 1987).…”

Section: Locomotion Across the Cpp Proceduressupporting

confidence: 59%

“…This sharp gender contrast may be partially attributable to global endocrinological, physiological, and/or pharmacokinetic differences between males and females, previously proposed to underlie cycling females' heightened vulnerability to cocaine's motoric and motivational effects (Becker 1999;Kuhn et al 2001;Chin et al 2002;Hu and Becker 2003;Russo et al 2003a, b;Carroll et al 2004;. Notably, cocaine pharmacokinetics remain strikingly consistent across postpartum and cycling states following cocaine administration parameters similar to those used here (Vernotica and Morrell 1998;Wansaw et al 2005;see Dwivedi et al 1993 for recently parturient females).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 66%

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Incentive salience of cocaine across the postpartum period of the female rat

et al. 2008

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Rationale-Objectives-Our prior conditioned place preference (CPP) work demonstrates that late (day16) postpartum female rats consistently prefer cocaine-over pup-associated chambers, whereas far fewer early postpartum (day8) females prefer the cocaine-associated chamber. The present study examines early and late postpartum females' preference for a cocaine-associated chamber when contrasted with a chamber associated with saline (rather than pups).Materials and methods-Postpartum females were tested for conditioned preference for chambers associated with cocaine (10 mg/kg subcutaneous (SC) or 0.5, 5, 10, or 20 mg/kg intraperitoneal (IP) injections) versus saline; preferences of virgin female and male rats for select cocaine stimuli (10mg/kg SC or IP) were also tested. Locomotion was recorded during CPP conditioning and testing.Results-Early and late postpartum females expressed strikingly similar preference for the cocaineassociated chamber across all administration routes and doses. IP cocaine produced an orderly, inverted U-shaped dose-preference curve, with preference peaking at the 5 mg/kg dose (83% of females). While many postpartum females preferred 10mg/kg cocaine administered either SC or IP, both virgin females and males expressed strong aversion to SC cocaine and, while virgin females strongly preferred IP cocaine, males remained relatively indifferent. Across 10mg/kg IP cocaineconditioning sessions, locomotor sensitization occurred exclusively in cocaine-but not salinepreferring postpartum females. Locomotor rate was lower in preferred versus nonpreferred chambers at CPP test.Conclusions-Early and late postpartum females may be equally and uniquely susceptible to sampling and/or abuse of modestly salient doses of cocaine (10mg/kg SC; 5mg/kg IP) compared to virgin females and/or males.

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Section: Subjectssupporting

confidence: 75%

Section: Locomotion Across the Cpp Proceduressupporting

confidence: 59%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 66%

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Incentive salience of cocaine across the postpartum period of the female rat

et al. 2008

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“…Our previous study comparing day 6 postpartum dams and virgin females found that plasma cocaine levels are comparable between postpartum dams and virgins and that cocaine-induced locomotor activity between these different endocrine models is only subtly different in pattern and peak values (Vernotica and Morrell, 1998). In the only other studies known to us that include postpartum females, Dwivedi et al (1993Dwivedi et al ( , 1996 found that postpartum dams have higher brain concentrations of cocaine and lower serum-to-brain ratios of cocaine compared with pregnant and virgin female rats.…”

mentioning

confidence: 94%

“…Plasma cocaine and metabolite levels have also been studied in virgin rats and mice after subcutaneous (Dow-Edwards et al, 1989;Vernotica and Morrell, 1998), intra-peritoneal (Benuck et al, 1987;Bowmann et al, 1999;Shah et al, 1980), and intravenous (Wiggins et al, 1989) cocaine administration, mostly using females without regard to stage of the estrous cycle. Additional, more specific work has now shown that hormonal fluctuations during the estrous cycle modulate cocaine metabolism (Quinones-Jenab et al, 1999) and behavioral responses to cocaine (Lynch et al, 2000;Quinones-Jenab et al, 1999;Roberts et al, 1989;Sell et al, 2000).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Plasma cocaine levels, metabolites, and locomotor activity after subcutaneous cocaine injection are stable across the postpartum period in rats

Wansaw

Lin

Morrell

2005

Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior

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Plasma levels of cocaine (COC) and two of its principle metabolites, benzoylecgonine (BE) and ecgonine methyl ester (EME) were determined by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) in samples collected up to 3 h after a subcutaneous injection of cocaine (10 mg/kg) on six different days between days 4 and 24 postpartum, a period of dramatic change in the endocrine state of the female rat. Locomotor activity was measured in the same animals during this period using automated animal activity monitors. Additional measures in males provide a link to existing literature. We found that plasma levels of cocaine and its metabolites, as well as their respective time courses, are remarkably uniform across the postpartum period in female rats, as are the effects of cocaine on locomotor activity. Data from males show accord with prior published values. COC and BE, but not EME levels, were higher in males, and the time courses of COC and BE levels after injection varied somewhat between postpartum females and males; however, neither baseline nor cocaine-induced locomotor activity differed between postpartum females and males. We conclude that in the postpartum rat, there are no significant differences in the peripheral processing or general accessibility of cocaine to the brain to activate motor systems across the postpartum period. These data are critical to our understanding of differences in the reward salience of cocaine across the postpartum period and in other adult rat models [Mattson BJ, Williams S, Rosenblatt JS, Morrell JI. Comparison of two positive reinforcing stimuli: pups and cocaine throughout the postpartum period. Behav Neurosci 2001;115:683-94, Mattson BJ, Williams SE, Rosenblatt JS, Morrell JI. Preferences for cocaine-or pup-associated chambers differentiate otherwise behaviorally identical postpartum maternal rats.

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Preferences for cocaine- or pup-associated chambers differentiates otherwise behaviorally identical postpartum maternal rats

et al. 2003

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Rationale and objectives-Our previous work uncovered a differential preference of maternal female rats for cues associated with pups versus cues associated with cocaine at three different postpartum time points. Our current study examines the preference for these cues in conjunction with an assessment of the capacity to express the maternal behavior at one of these time points. We examined dams at day 10 postpartum using a procedure that included two additional controls, and a complete assessment of the expression of maternal behavior and locomotor activity.Methods-A conditioned place-preference procedure was used to determine the preference for cocaine-or pup-associated cues. The two controls were (1) a preconditioning test to verify no initial chamber preference and (2) a separate control group of postpartum day-10 dams exposed to chambers and cues but not to unconditioned stimuli. The expression of maternal behavior was determined by measurement of maternal nest building, retrieval of pups to the nest, grooming, crouching over pups, nursing, and maternal aggression. Locomotor activity was measured with an automated apparatus.Results-Dams conditioned with cocaine or pups showed a preference for either the cocaineassociated chamber or the pup-associated chamber, confirming the existence of two similar-sized preference groups at this time point. Regardless of preference, dams had equal and robust expression of maternal behavior and similar locomotor capacity. The pre-conditioning test showed no initial chamber preferences and did not alter the conditioned preference response. The use of unconditioned stimuli in the place-preference conditioning procedure was effective and necessary for the preference response.Conclusion-Our current study has revealed that differences in the motivational state of the maternal dam emerge even while the expression of maternal behavior is constant and substantial. The data suggest that the difference in preference is a very specific appetitive response that is not linked to expression of maternal behavior or locomotor capacity.

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Plasma cocaine levels and locomotor activity after systemic injection in virgin and in lactating maternal female rats

Cited by 22 publications

References 34 publications

Incentive salience of cocaine across the postpartum period of the female rat

Incentive salience of cocaine across the postpartum period of the female rat

Plasma cocaine levels, metabolites, and locomotor activity after subcutaneous cocaine injection are stable across the postpartum period in rats

Preferences for cocaine- or pup-associated chambers differentiates otherwise behaviorally identical postpartum maternal rats

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