Abstract
The effects of morphine, naloxone, and nalorphine on responding maintained under a variable-interval schedule of food presentation were assessed in rhesus monkeys before and after successive periods of daily morphine maintenance (15.0 mg/kg/day SC). Withdrawal from morphine dependence was accomplished gradually following the first two maintenance periods and abruptly following the third period. Schedule-controlled responding was disrupted when morphine maintenance was abruptly discontinued but not when the maintenance dosage was gradually reduced to zero. Tolerance to the acute effects of IV morphine on responding developed during morphine maintenance and dissipated after daily injections were discontinued. The effects of IV naloxone and IV nalorphine following each period of morphine maintenance were generally similar to their effects in initial determinations. These data indicate that tolerance-producing regimens of repeated daily injections with morphine do not necessarily produce enduring changes in the effects of opiate antagonists on schedule-controlled behavior. Additionally, gradual withdrawal from morphine maintenance can minimize the behavioral disruptions that attend abrupt abstinence.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Brady LS, Holtzman SG (1980) Schedule-controlled behavior in the morphine-dependent and post-dependent rat. Psychopharmacology 70:11–18
Ferster CB, Skinner BF (1957) Schedules of reinforcement. Appleton-Century-Crofts, New York
Goldberg SR, Schuster CR (1967) Conditioned suppression by a stimulus associated with nalorphine in morphine-dependent monkeys. J Exp Anal Behav 10:235–242
Goldberg SR, Schuster CR (1970) Conditioned nalorphine-induced abstinence changes: Persistence in post-morphine-dependent monkeys. J Exp Anal Behav 14:33–46
Goldberg SR, Morse WH, Goldberg DM (1981) Acute and chronic effects of naltrexone and naloxone on schedule-controlled behavior of squirrel monkeys and pigeons. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 216:500–509
Goldstein A (1976) Heroin addiction: Sequential treatment employing pharmacological supports. Arch Gen Psychiatry 33:353–358
Holtzman SG, Villarreal JE (1973) Operant behavior in the morphine-dependent rhesus monkey. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 184:528–541
Irwin S, Seevers MH (1956) Altered response to drugs in the post addict (Macaca mulatta). J Pharmacol Exp Ther 116:31–32
Jaffe JH (1980) Narcotic analgesics. In: Gilman AG, Goodman LS, Gilman A (eds) The pharmacological basis of therapeutics, 6th ed. Macmillan, New York, pp 534–584
Kelleher RT, Goldberg SG (1979) Effects of naloxone on schedule-controlled behavior in monkeys. In: Usdin E, Bunney WE, Kline NS (eds) Endorphins in mental health research. Macmillan, London-Basingstoke, pp 461–472
Kelleher RT, Morse WH (1968) Determinants of the specificity of behavioral effects of drugs. Ergeb Physiol 60:1–56
Wikler A (1980) Opioid dependence. Plenum, New York
Woods JH, Carney J (1978) Narcotic tolerance and operant behavior. In: Krasnegor NA (ed) Behavioral tolerance: Research and treatment implications. NIDA Res Monog 18 US Govt Printing Office, Washington, DC, pp 54–66
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bergman, J., Schuster, C.R. Behavioral effects of naloxone and nalorphine preceding and following morphine maintenance in the rhesus monkey. Psychopharmacology 86, 324–327 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00432222
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00432222