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Testosterone reinforcement: intravenous and intracerebroventricular self-administration in male rats and hamsters

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Abstract

Rationale

Anabolic steroids are drugs of abuse. However, the potential for addiction remains unclear. Testosterone induces conditioned place preference in rats and oral self-administration in hamsters.

Objectives

To determine if male rats and hamsters consume testosterone by intravenous (IV) or intracerebroventricular (ICV) self-administration.

Methods

With each nose-poke in the active hole during daily 4-h tests in an operant conditioning chamber, gonad-intact adult rats and hamsters received 50 μg testosterone in an aqueous solution of β-cyclodextrin via jugular cannula. The inactive nose-poke hole served as a control. Additional hamsters received vehicle infusions.

Results

Rats (n=7) expressed a significant preference for the active nose-poke hole (10.0±2.8 responses/4 h) over the inactive hole (4.7±1.2 responses/4 h). Similarly, during 16 days of testosterone self-administration IV, hamsters (n=9) averaged 11.7±2.9 responses/4 h and 6.3±1.1 responses/4 h in the active and inactive nose-poke holes, respectively. By contrast, vehicle controls (n=8) failed to develop a preference for the active nose-poke hole (6.5±0.5 and 6.4±0.3 responses/4 h). Hamsters (n=8) also self-administered 1 μg testosterone ICV (active hole:39.8±6.0 nose-pokes/4 h; inactive hole: 22.6±7.1 nose-pokes/4 h). When testosterone was replaced with vehicle, nose-poking in the active hole declined from 31.1±7.6 to 11.9±3.2 responses/4 h within 6 days. Likewise, reversing active and inactive holes increased nose-poking in the previously inactive hole from 9.1±1.9 to 25.6±5.4 responses/4 h. However, reducing the testosterone dose from 1 μg to 0.2 μg per 1 μl injection did not change nose-poking.

Conclusions

Compared with other drugs of abuse, testosterone reinforcement is modest. Nonetheless, these data support the hypothesis that testosterone is reinforcing.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Ms. Reshma Karipineni and Mr. Eric F. Schmidt for technical assistance. This study was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health to R.I.W. (DA-12843 and MH-55034).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cell and Neurobiology, Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, 1333 San Pablo Street, BMT 401, Los Angeles, CA, 90033, USA

    Ruth I. Wood & Lucy Chu

  2. Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, 10003, USA

    Luke R. Johnson

  3. Department of Neurobiology, Chicago Medical Center, North Chicago, IL, 60064, USA

    Christina Schad

  4. Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, 75390, USA

    David W. Self

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  1. Ruth I. Wood
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  2. Luke R. Johnson
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  3. Lucy Chu
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  4. Christina Schad
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Correspondence to Ruth I. Wood.

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Wood, R.I., Johnson, L.R., Chu, L. et al. Testosterone reinforcement: intravenous and intracerebroventricular self-administration in male rats and hamsters. Psychopharmacology 171, 298–305 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-003-1587-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-003-1587-7

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