Abstract
Rats which were physically dependent on morphine were repeatedly placed in distinctive environments immediately after being injected with their daily dose of the drug (120 mg/kg). The effects of morphine, e.g. reduction of withdrawal symptoms, were thus associated with particular environmental stimuli and when the rats were tested in withdrawal, they preferred these environments to unfamiliar neutral ones. They also tended to have higher photocell activity scores during these tests. Avoidance of such environments was not shown by rats which had repeatedly been placed in them when in states of withdrawal.
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Kumar, R. Morphine dependence in rats: Secondary reinforcement from environmental stimuli. Psychopharmacologia 25, 332–338 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00421972
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00421972