Rationale: Recent reports have indicated that the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)B agonist baclofen attenuates the reinforcing effects of cocaine.
Objectives: To further evaluate the effect of baclofen on cocaine self-administration under a fixed ratio (FR) and progressive ratio (PR) schedule of reinforcement.
Methods: In the first series of experiments, three dose-response curves were generated that examined the effect of three doses of baclofen (1.8, 3.2, or 5.6 mg/kg, i.p.) against four unit-injection doses of cocaine (0.19, 0.38, 0.75, and 1.5 mg/kg per injection) reinforced under a FRI schedule. For comparison, an additional group of rats was pretreated with haloperidol (32, 56, or 100 microg/kg, i.p.). A separate experiment examined the effect of baclofen (1.8, 3.2, or 5.6 mg/kg, i.p.) on responding for concurrently available cocaine or food reinforcement.
Results: Under the FR1 schedule, baclofen suppressed intake of low but not high unit injection doses of cocaine. In contrast to haloperidol, baclofen had no effect on the distribution of inter-injection intervals and, instead, produced long pauses in cocaine self-administration. Baclofen dose dependently reduced cocaine-reinforced responding on a PR schedule; concurrent access to a food-reinforced lever demonstrated that the animals retained the capacity to respond at high rates.
Conclusion: The effect of baclofen pretreatment on cocaine self-administration is dependent on the unit injection dose of cocaine and on the response requirements of the schedule.