Abstract
The utility of a novel procedure to examine a drug’s time course of behavioral action was evaluated. Time- and dose-effect relations for the antiepilepsy drug mephenytoin were examined in pigeons during 12-hr sessions through the use of a multiple variable-interval 60-sec extinction (mult VI EXT) schedule of food delivery. The VI 60-sec components were programmed for the first 10 min of each hr and were followed by 50-min EXT components. Mephenytoin produced dose-dependent decreases in rate of responding; the higher the dose the longer the duration of effect. Peak effects of mephenytoin were observed 2 hr after injection (during the third VI component). At the higher doses drug effects were still evident at the end of the session (i.e., 12 hr after injection). The orderliness of results suggests that, although session length was too short to profile fully the time course of high mephenytoin doses, the present procedure merits further attention by behavioral pharmacologists.
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