Increased heroin intake and relapse vulnerability in intermittent relative to continuous self-administration: Sex differences in rats.

ABSTRACT:

Background and purpose

Studies using intermittent-access drug self-administration show increased motivation to take and seek cocaine and fentanyl, relative to continuous access. In this study, we examined the effects of intermittent- and continuous-access self-administration on heroin intake, patterns of self-administration and cue-induced heroin-seeking, after forced or voluntary abstinence, in male and female rats. We also modelled brain levels of heroin and its active metabolites.

Experimental approach

Rats were trained to self-administer a palatable solution and then heroin (0.075 mg·kg^-1 per inf) either continuously (6 h·day^-1 ; 10 days) or intermittently (6 h·day^-1 ; 5-min access every 30-min; 10 days). Brain levels of heroin and its me

SUBMITTER: D'Ottavio G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9253203 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature