Translational research suggests that agonist replacement may be a viable treatment approach for managing methamphetamine dependence. This study sought to determine the effects of d-amphetamine maintenance on methamphetamine self-administration in stimulant using participants. A cognitive battery was used to determine the performance effects of methamphetamine alone and during d-amphetamine maintenance. During each maintenance condition, participants first sampled a dose of intranasal methamphetamine then had the opportunity to respond on a progressive ratio task to earn portions of the sampled dose. Subject-rated drug-effect and physiological measures were completed prior to and after sampling methamphetamine. Methamphetamine was self-administered as function of dose regardless of the maintenance condition. Methamphetamine produced prototypical subject-rated effects, some of which were attenuated by d-amphetamine maintenance. Methamphetamine was well tolerated during d-amphetamine maintenance and no adverse events occurred. The self-administration results are concordant with those of clinical trials that show d-amphetamine did not reduce methamphetamine use. Generally, there was no difference in cognitive performance after methamphetamine administration during both placebo and d-amphetamine maintenance. Overall d-amphetamine does not appear to be a viable treatment for preventing methamphetamine relapse, but translational literature suggests that other agonist medications or the combination of pharmacotherapy and behavioral therapies may be effective.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uky.edu/oai:uknowledge.uky.edu:psychology_etds-1015 |
| Date | 01 January 2013 |
| Creators | Pike, Erika |
| Publisher | UKnowledge |
| Source Sets | University of Kentucky |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Theses and Dissertations--Psychology |
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