Heightened Cocaine-induced Locomotor Activity in Adolescent Compared to Adult Female Rats
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2016
Keywords
adolescence, females, cocaine, locomotor activity
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881105056518
Abstract
Initiation and experimentation with illicit drugs often occurs in adolescence. Evidence suggests that adolescent rats are more sensitive to some of the effects of drugs of abuse than adult rats. The present study investigated whether adolescent and adult female Sprague Dawley rats differ in cocaine-induced locomotor activity. Animals were placed in the test environment for 30 minutes, and then administered an intraperitoneal (IP) injection of either cocaine (20mg/kg) or saline (0.9%). Both adult and adolescent animals showed significant increases in locomotor activity as a result of cocaine administration compared to saline controls. Interestingly, cocaine induced significantly more locomotor activity in the adolescent females compared to the adults, demonstrating that cocaine acts differently in developing animals.
Was this content written or created while at USF?
Yes
Citation / Publisher Attribution
Journal of Psychopharmacology, v. 19, issue 5, p. 443-447
Scholar Commons Citation
Catlow, Briony J. and Kirstein, Cheryl L., "Heightened Cocaine-induced Locomotor Activity in Adolescent Compared to Adult Female Rats" (2016). Psychology Faculty Publications. 2476.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/psy_facpub/2476
