Effect of naltrexone on oral consumption of concurrently available ethanol and cocaine in the rat

Comorbid abuse of and dependency on multiple drugs is a common occurrence clinically. We have developed an animal model that provides rats with the opportunity to choose, through oral consumption, between concurrently available ethanol and cocaine with water also available. This provides the ability...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Alcohol 2002-11, Vol.28 (3), p.169-179
Main Authors: Stromberg, Michael F., Sengpiel, Till, Mackler, Scott A., Volpicelli, Joseph R., O'Brien, Charles P., Vogel, Wolfgang H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Administration, Oral
Alcohol Drinking - drug therapy
Alcoholism and acute alcohol poisoning
Animals
Behavior, Addictive - drug therapy
Biological and medical sciences
Cocaine
Cocaine - administration & dosage
Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
Ethanol
Ethanol - administration & dosage
Male
Medical sciences
Naltrexone
Naltrexone - pharmacology
Naltrexone - therapeutic use
Rats
Rats, Wistar
Toxicology
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Summary:Comorbid abuse of and dependency on multiple drugs is a common occurrence clinically. We have developed an animal model that provides rats with the opportunity to choose, through oral consumption, between concurrently available ethanol and cocaine with water also available. This provides the ability to screen for the effectiveness of potential pharmacotherapeutic agents on the baseline consumption of both drugs. We used this animal model to evaluate the effects of naltrexone, at doses of 0, 1.0, 3.0, and 10.0 mg/kg, on concurrent oral consumption of ethanol and cocaine solutions. Naltrexone at all doses significantly reduced both consumption of and preference for ethanol. Consumption of both cocaine and water was unaffected by naltrexone, supporting the suggestion that the effects of naltrexone were selective for ethanol. These findings support the suggestion that ethanol and cocaine act on different central reward pathways. The implications of these findings for the clinical use of naltrexone in populations with comorbid ethanol and cocaine abuse are discussed.
ISSN:0741-8329
1873-6823
DOI:10.1016/S0741-8329(02)00280-X