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H L Altshuler

Publications and source records attributed to H L Altshuler.

23 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
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Behavioral methods for the assessment of alcohol tolerance and dependence.

The effect of ethanol (ALC) on human and animal behavior is readily apparent, but careful use of behavioral measures can provide sensitive and precise descriptions of the actions of ALC and the development of tolerance and dependence. Many of the most useful behavioral methods are reviewed in this report, as well as data from studies that used self-administration (SA) techniques. Intragastric SA experiments with monkeys illustrate the establishment of a durable animal model that exhibits many similarities to human drinking patterns. Recent intravenous SA experiments demonstrated that an opiate antagonist, naltrexone HCl, produces significant decreases in the intravenous SA of ALC, a finding that implicates central opiate systems in the reinforcing effects of ALC.

Animals↗
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A drug discrimination analysis of ethanol-induced behavioral excitation and sedation: the role of endogenous opiate pathways.

The drug discrimination technique was used to characterize the biphasic behavioral effects of ethanol (ETOH) and examine the role of opiate pathways in mediating ETOH's excitatory (EX) and sedative (SED) phase effects. Forty Sprague-Dawley rats were trained to perform ETOH vs. saline discriminations during either ETOH's EX (6 min post-dose) or SED (30 min post-dose) phase of action in a double-lever food reinforced operant paradigm. After animals had achieved the required performance criterion, dose-response and phase-generalization tests were conducted in each group. In addition, preliminary studies were conducted to examine the effect of naloxone (NLX) pretreatment on discrimination of ETOH's EX and SED phase stimulus effects. Results of generalization testing demonstrate that discrimination of ETOH was dose-dependent and there was no generalization between phases regardless of the initial training condition. NLX pretreatment significantly attenuated discrimination of ETOH's EX phase effects but was ineffective in antagonizing ETOH's SED effects. These data demonstrate that the stimulus properties of ETOH are phase-dependent and suggest that opiate pathways are critical for the expression of ETOH's EX phase behavioral effects.

Animals↗