Heroin and saccharin demand and preference in rats.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Several recent studies have investigated the choice between heroin and a non-drug alternative reinforcer in rats. A common finding in these studies is that there are large individual differences in preference, with some rats preferring heroin and some preferring the non-drug alternative. The primary goal of the present study was to determine whether individual differences in how heroin or saccharin is valued, based on demand analysis, predicts choice.

Methods

Rats lever-pressed for heroin infusions and saccharin reinforcers on fixed-ratio schedules. The essential value of each reinforcer was obtained from resulting demand curves. Rats were then trained on a mutually exclusive choice procedure where pressing one lever resulted in heroin and pressing another resulte

SUBMITTER: Schwartz LP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5548646 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature