Long term effects of chronic chlordiazepoxide (CDP) administration.

Three experiments were carried out to test the long-term behavioral effects of 12 days administration of CDP (5 mg/kg/day) in rats. In the first two experiments, 4 weeks after the end of drug administration (CDP or placebo), and after 2 weeks of training to run a straight alley for food reward, animals were tested in extinction, i.e., following omission of reward (Expt. 1) or with punishment, i.e., 0.3 mA electric shock in addition to the food reward (Expt. 2). Drug-treated animals showed significantly increased resistance to extinction and to punishment compared with controls. In the third experiment, 10 weeks after drug administration, animals were exposed to 60 s of intense noise to induce audiogenic seizures. The convulsant metrazol was injected 5 min prior to successive sessions (10 min apart) with doses starting at 10 mg/kg an increased by 10 mg/kg each session up to 40 mg/kg. Drug-treated animals were significantly less susceptible to seizures than their placebo controls. These results suggest that chronic benzodiazepine treatment causes long-term neurochemical changes which are responsible for the observed behavioral effects.