Effects of phencyclidine, d-amphetamine and pentobarbital on schedule-controlled behavior in rats

Abstract

The effects of phencyclidine, d-amphetamine, and pentobarbital on responding maintained under a multiple fixed interval (FI) 3-min fixed-ratio (FR) 30 schedule of food presentation were studied in rats. Phencyclidine (0.32–7.5 mg/kg) had a biphasic effect on overall response rate in both components; response rate increased and then decreased as the dose was increased. The FR was slightly more sensitive to the rate-decreasing effects of phencyclidine than the FI. The effects of d-amphetamine (0.1–7.5 mg/kg) on overall rate were qualitatively similar to those of phencyclidine. The FI tended to be slightly more sensitive than the FR to the rate-increasing effects of d-amphetamine. Pentobarbital (1–18 mg/kg) produced little or no rate-increasing effects in the FR at low doses and decreased FR response rate at higher doses. In the FI, pentobarbital produced small increases in overall rate at intermediate doses while decreasing response rate at higher doses. The FR tended to be more sensitive than the FI to the rate-decreasing effects of pentobarbital. Unlike d-amphetamine and pentobarbital, phencyclidine produced smaller rate-increasing effects when the dose-effect curves were redetermined. Within the FI, the effects of phencyclidine and d-amphetamine on response rate were generally independent of the control rate of responding.