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paraChlorophenylalanine potentiates facilitatory effects of mescaline on shuttlebox escape/avoidance in rats

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Abstract

Acute parachlorophenylalanine (pCPA) pretreatment (150 mg/kg, i.p., 24 h beforehand) potentiated facilitatory effects of mescaline (39.6 mg/kg i.p.) on shuttlebox escape/avoidance in hooded rats, tested in two different situations: 1. during aquisition of avoidance behavior (Experiment 1); and 2. in stable pretrained poor avoiders (Experiment 2). pCPA alone did not influence avoidance behavior in either situation. Mescaline, with pCPA pretreatment, may be associated with long-term behavioral effects; all rats treated with long-term behavioral effects; all rats treated with this combination were later found to be poor avoiders, unable to achieve a stable baseline of good avoidance. pCPA significantly depleted brain norepinephrine and dopamine, as well as serotonin, measured after testing in the second situation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Clinical Psychopharmacology, National Institute of Mental Health, Division of Special Mental Health Research, IRP, Saint Elizabeths Hospital, William A. White Building, 20032, Washington, D. C., USA

    David M. Stoff, Richard J. Wyatt & J. Christian Gillin

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  1. David M. Stoff
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  2. Richard J. Wyatt
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  3. J. Christian Gillin
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Stoff, D.M., Wyatt, R.J. & Gillin, J.C. paraChlorophenylalanine potentiates facilitatory effects of mescaline on shuttlebox escape/avoidance in rats. Psychopharmacology 47, 287–292 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00427615

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00427615

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