The effects of cadmium and lead on ethanol-induced hypoalgesia /

Research has shown that animals exposed to cadmium or lead self-administer a set volume of ethanol in an operant context at lower rates than their control counterparts, suggesting a reduction in the reward value of the drug. The present paper seeks to determine whether this pharmacologic attenuatio...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Burkey, Robert Trent
Format: Thesis eBook
Language:English
Published: [Place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified] ; 1993.
Subjects:
Online Access:Link to OAKTrust copy
Description
Summary:Research has shown that animals exposed to cadmium or lead self-administer a set volume of ethanol in an operant context at lower rates than their control counterparts, suggesting a reduction in the reward value of the drug. The present paper seeks to determine whether this pharmacologic attenuation extends to hypoalgesia, a physiologic consequence of acute ethanol exposure. Specifically, in Experiment 1, rats exposed to either 0 or 100 ppm cadmium (as cadmium chloride) were injected with doses of 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 g/kg, and tail-flick latencies were recorded every 20 min over the next 2 hr. Results of Experiment 1 indicated ethanol induced hypoalgesia at both the 1.5 and 2.0 g/kg doses for control animals, but ethanol-induced hypoalgesia was evident only at the highest dose for the cadmium-treated rats. Further, the magnitude of hypoalgesia was significantly diminished among cadmium-treated rats. In Experiment 2, the same procedure was used on rats exposed to either 0 or 500 ppm lead acetate at doses of 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 g/kg ethanol. Results indicated ethanol-induced hypoalgesia at all doses. However, similar to the cadmium-exposed animals, at the 2.0 and 3.0 g/kg doses lead-treated animals exhibited less ethanol-induced hypoalgesia than control animals. Results are discussed in terms of an attenuation of the pharmacologic properties of ethanol by cadmium or lead.
Item Description:"Major Subject: Psychology".
Vita.
Physical Description:viii, 46 leaves : illustrations ; 28 cm.
Also available online.
Bibliography:Includes bibliographical references.