Buspirone is differentiated from diazepam in humans using a three-response drug discrimination procedure

The discriminative stimulus effects of buspirone and diazepam were examined in 12 healthy volunteers using a three-response drug discrimination procedure and a within-subject design. During an initial sampling phase, the training drug conditions (placebo, 15 mg/70 kg buspirone, and 10 mg/70 kg diaze...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychopharmacologia 1998-07, Vol.138 (1), p.16-26
Main Authors: FREY, J. M, MINTZER, M. Z, RUSH, C. R, GRIFFITHS, R. R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Affect - drug effects
Anti-Anxiety Agents - pharmacology
Biological and medical sciences
Buspirone
Buspirone - pharmacology
Diazepam
Diazepam - pharmacology
Discrimination (Psychology)
Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
Drug development
Drug discrimination
Female
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
Neuropharmacology
Oral administration
Pharmacology. Drug treatments
Psycholeptics: tranquillizer, neuroleptic
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopharmacology
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Summary:The discriminative stimulus effects of buspirone and diazepam were examined in 12 healthy volunteers using a three-response drug discrimination procedure and a within-subject design. During an initial sampling phase, the training drug conditions (placebo, 15 mg/70 kg buspirone, and 10 mg/70 kg diazepam) were identified to subjects by letter codes before oral drug administration. During a subsequent training phase, subjects earned money for correct drug identifications made two hours after drug administration. Ten out of 12 subjects acquired the three-response discrimination. When lower doses of buspirone (3.75 and 7.5 mg/70 kg) and diazepam (2.5 and 5.0 mg/70 kg) were tested in a subsequent generalization testing phase, both buspirone and diazepam produced dose-related increases in appropriate drug identifications, without significant cross-generalization. Analyses of standardized and unstructured self report questionnaires revealed that buspirone and diazepam produced different profiles of effects, and that buspirone was associated with a number of "negative" subject-rated effects including tension, nausea, and dizziness. These results demonstrate a distinct profile of discriminative stimulus and subjective effects for buspirone relative to diazepam which is consistent with its distinct pharmacological profile, and provide evidence for the sensitivity of the three-response drug discrimination procedure.
ISSN:0033-3158
1432-2072
DOI:10.1007/s002130050640