Schedule-induced polydipsia: gender-specific effects and consequences of prenatal cocaine and postnatal handling.

The impact of gestational cocaine in conjunction with postnatal handling on schedule-induced polydipsia (SIP) was examined. Rat offspring were derived from Sprague-Dawley dams injected subcutaneously with 40 mg/kg/3 cc cocaine hydrochloride (C40) on gestational days 8-20, dams injected with vehicle and pair fed 4 (PF4) days to mimic the acute anorexic effects of cocaine administration, and nontreated (NT) control dams. In adulthood, offspring were food deprived and given 13 daily 30-min SIP sessions, with water intake recorded during the scheduled (fixed time 60 s-FT60) food delivery. For 4 days thereafter, animals received saline, 5 or 10 mg/kg of cocaine in counterbalanced order prior to SIP testing. Acquisition and maintenance of SIP, but not cocaine-induced suppression of SIP performance, were observed to be dependent upon prenatal treatment, handling, and gender. Females acquired SIP faster and exhibited notably higher levels of polydipsia than males. Early handling increased levels of established SIP in NT offspring, while enhancing SIP acquisition in both PF4 and C40 offspring. In nonhandled animals, NT offspring exhibited less SIP than PF4 and C40 offspring, differences that were attenuated by early handling. These effects are discussed in relation to previously reported neurohormonal characteristics of these gender and treatment variables.