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Repeated Acquisition in the Morris Swim Task: Effects of Methylenedioxymethamphetamine, Methamphetamine, and Methylphenidate

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Abstract

Acute effects of methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), methamphetamine (MA), and methylphenidate (MPD) were studied using a within-subject, repeated acquisition/performance procedure adapted to the Morris swim task. To investigate place-learning, the acquisition component consisted of a hidden platform that varied in location across experimental sessions. As a control for drug effects not specific to acquisition, a performance component was included in which the hidden platform was in the same pool location in every experimental session. All three drugs increased escape latencies and swim distances in a dose-dependent fashion. However, impairment in the acquisition component was generally observed only at doses that also produced impairment in the performance component, suggesting that effects were not selective to place learning. None of the drugs produced enhancement of learning or performance at any dose. Taken together, the results suggest that acute exposure to these psychomotor stimulants produce global impairment of performance in the Morris task, rather than specific deficits in place-learning.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina, Wilmington, NC, 28403, USA

    Mark Galizio, Bridget D. Byrd, Andrea M. Robinson, Andrew Hawkey, Rebecca Rayburn-Reeves & L. Brooke April

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA

    Andrew Hawkey

  3. Department of Psychology, Dartmouth University, Hanover, NH, USA

    Andrea M. Robinson

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  1. Mark Galizio
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  2. Bridget D. Byrd
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  3. Andrea M. Robinson
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  4. Andrew Hawkey
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  5. Rebecca Rayburn-Reeves
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  6. L. Brooke April
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Correspondence to Mark Galizio.

Additional information

The research was supported in part by grants DA12879 and DA029252 to Mark Galizio. The authors thank the following UNCW students who assisted in data collection and analysis: Shanna Baird, Erica Blackwell, Laura Bullard, Carol Dwan, Mitch Ferguson, Miles Hulick, Patrick McKinney, Laurence Miller, Shayna Nesbitt, and Jessie Ramsey.

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Galizio, M., Byrd, B.D., Robinson, A.M. et al. Repeated Acquisition in the Morris Swim Task: Effects of Methylenedioxymethamphetamine, Methamphetamine, and Methylphenidate. Psychol Rec 64, 143–150 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40732-014-0023-1

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