Acute tolerance to the discriminative stimulus properties of morphine

Abstract

Two pigeons were trained to discriminate intramuscular injections of 1.0 mg/kg morphine from water by presenting food after keypeck responses on one key when morphine was administered and after responses on a second key when water was administered. Following training, close to 100% of responses occurred on the appropriate key following administration of 1.0 mg/kg morphine or water. Morphine (0.1–5.6 mg/kg) produced dose-dependent increases in the percentage of morphine-appropriate responses (discriminative stimulus properties) and decreases in the rate of responding. A shift to the right of the morphine dose-effect curve for the discriminative stimulus properties of morphine resulted from a single injection of morphine (10.0 mg/kg) 24 hrs prior to testing (i.e., acute tolerance) but not from a single injection of pentobarbital (17.0 mg/kg). Tolerance to the discriminative stimulus properties of morphine was reversible within five days of the single injection. Tolerance did not develop to the effects of morphine on response rate. Naloxone antagonized both the discriminative stimulus properties and the response rate-decreasing effects of morphine. Thus, a single administration of morphine can alter morphine discriminability without affecting other aspects of behavior.