Abstract
Rationale
It has been proposed that drugs of abuse reinforce behavior partly, or wholly, because they facilitate learning by enhancing memory consolidation. Cocaine can clearly serve as a reinforcer, but its effect on learning has not been fully characterized.
Objectives
To explore the effects of different regimens of pre- and post-training cocaine administration on win-stay and object learning.
Methods
Cocaine naïve and cocaine pre-exposed (30 mg/kg/day, ×5 days followed by 7 days drug-free) male Sprague-Dawley rats received cocaine (0, 1, 2.5, 7.5, or 20 mg/kg, i.p.) immediately following training on a win-stay task in a radial maze or following the sample phase of an object learning task. Win-stay performance was also assessed in tests of extinction and after a set shift.
Results
Post-training cocaine did not improve accuracy on the win-stay task and produced performance deficits at 20 mg/kg. These deficits were attenuated by prior cocaine exposure. There was indirect evidence of facilitated learning in extinction and set shift tests, but the effective dosage was different (2.5 and 7.5 mg/kg, respectively). Post-training cocaine produced dose-dependent improvements in object learning.
Conclusion
Post-training cocaine administration can facilitate learning, but this effect is highly dependent on the dose and the type of task employed.
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These studies are funded by the Natural Sciences and Research Council of Canada (NSERC).
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Rkieh, N., Cloke, J.M., Gallagher, N. et al. Drugs of abuse as memory modulators: a study of cocaine in rats. Psychopharmacology 231, 2339–2348 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-013-3390-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-013-3390-4