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Alterations in the behavioral effects of LSD by pretreatment with p-chlorophenylalanine and α-methyl-p-tyrosine

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Abstract

The bar-pressing behavior of hungry rats was maintained by a fixed-ratio schedule of food reinforcement. At 5 and 12 days after pretreatment with p-chlorophenylalanine (PCPA), a subtreshold dose (20 μg/kg) of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) was found to disrupt this behavior. No such disruption occurred when PCPA pretreatment was followed by either a distracting external stimulus (tone) or a low dose of D-amphetamine (0.3 mg/kg). Sensitivity to LSD was apparently unaffected by pretreatment with α-methyl-p-tyrosine (AMPT).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Psychopharmacology Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Chicago, 60637, Chicago, Illinois, USA

    James B. Appel, Richard A. Lovell & Daniel X. Freedman

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  1. James B. Appel
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  2. Richard A. Lovell
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  3. Daniel X. Freedman
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Additional information

This work was supported by USPHS Research Grant MH 13, 186 from the National Institute of Mental Health and by grant NSF GB 7442 from the National Science Foundation.

Supported by USPHS Research Scientist Development Award 5-KO2-MH-09355 from the National Institute of Mental Health.

Supported in part by a research fellowship from The Schweppe Foundation.

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Appel, J.B., Lovell, R.A. & Freedman, D.X. Alterations in the behavioral effects of LSD by pretreatment with p-chlorophenylalanine and α-methyl-p-tyrosine. Psychopharmacologia 18, 387–406 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00402765

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00402765

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