Postretrieval propranolol disrupts a cocaine conditioned place preference

Neuroreport. 2006 Sep 18;17(13):1443-7. doi: 10.1097/01.wnr.0000233098.20655.26.

Abstract

The current study examined whether a postretrieval drug memory could be disrupted by the beta-adrenoceptor antagonist propranolol, administered following reactivation in a cocaine-mediated conditioned place preference paradigm. Following cocaine conditioning, rats were given a test of conditioned place preference, followed immediately by intraperitoneal administration of propranolol or saline. Rats that received propranolol following the preference test showed no preference for the cocaine-paired floor during a subsequent test, while vehicle-treated rats continued to express a preference for the cocaine-paired floor. These deficits in behavior were specific to retrieval of the cocaine-mediated memory, suggesting that postretrieval propranolol induced an impairment of drug-seeking behavior that is consistent with the disruption of a reconsolidation phase following retrieval.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Adrenergic beta-Antagonists / pharmacology*
  • Analysis of Variance
  • Animals
  • Behavior, Animal / drug effects
  • Cocaine / pharmacology*
  • Conditioning, Psychological / drug effects*
  • Dopamine Uptake Inhibitors / pharmacology*
  • Male
  • Propranolol / pharmacology*
  • Rats
  • Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Substances

  • Adrenergic beta-Antagonists
  • Dopamine Uptake Inhibitors
  • Propranolol
  • Cocaine