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Effects of apomorphine on self-stimulation behavior

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Abstract

Self-stimulation behavior was studied in untreated rats and rats injected with apomorphine with electrodes implanted in the nucleus accumbens, the lateral hypothalamus, the catecholaminergic cell-groups A9–A10 and the locus coeruleus.

Apomorphine (0.2 mg/kg s. c.) consistently facilitated self-stimulation in a number of rats but inhibited this behavior in others.

This individual variation could be observed in all four groups of rats but was further analysed in the rats with an electrode in the A9–A10 area. The effect of the drug was highly reproducible for individual animals.

Extinction after reduction of the rewarding current to zero could not be demonstrated as long as the drug was active.

These results substantiate the hypothesis that apomorphine is able to replace the reinforcing action of intracranial rewarding stimulation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of pharmacology, University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    C. L. E. Broekkamp & J. M. van Rossum

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  1. C. L. E. Broekkamp
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  2. J. M. van Rossum
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Broekkamp, C.L.E., van Rossum, J.M. Effects of apomorphine on self-stimulation behavior. Psychopharmacologia 34, 71–80 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00421222

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00421222

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