Behavioral analysis of chronic cocaine intoxication in the cat.

Modification of cocaine's stimulant and local anesthetic behavioral effects as a function of chronic treatment was evaluated in seven female cats. Video tape of behavior pre- and post-cocaine (iv) on days 1, 4, 7, 10, and 13 in seven cats, and in addition, on days 21, 28, and 35 for s subset of four cats, was rated for several scales of the Behavioral Rating Inventory for Drug-Generated Effects (BRIDGE), developed to quantify stimulant-induced behaviors. Preseizure events were measured using scales for Tremor Intensity and Preseizure-Seizure Intensity (PSI), developed to quantify local anesthetic-induced behaviors. Behaviors associated with cocaine's local anesthetic effects, i.e., Tremor Intensity and PSI levels, showed tolerance over the treatment period, while behaviors associated with cocaine's psychomotor stimulant effects, i.e., the BRIDGE measures, showed augmentation, or reverse tolerance. These data are discussed in terms of catecholamine supersensitivity, kindling mechanisms, and stimulant models of psychosis.