Conditioned suppression of an operant response using d-amphetamine as the conditioned stimulus.

The use of a drug state as a conditioned stimulus (CS) in a classical conditioning paradigm was investigated. Suppression of a single-lever food-reinforced response (variable-interval 60 s) served as an index of a classically conditioned response (conditioned suppression). d-Amphetamine (0.8 mg/kg) injections were paired with a series of inescapable shocks. Following drug-shock pairing, the effects of d-amphetamine on operant response totals was compared to effects obtained in control subjects which had received unpaired d-amphetamine and shock exposures. d-Amphetamine administered during daily operant sessions unaccompanied by shock was an effective CS for conditioned suppression of the operant response. Administration of cocaine hydrochloride (7.5 mg/kg) also produced a decrease in total responses, suggesting stimulus generalization from the shock-paired drug to a novel drug.