Effects of Pramipexole on Impulsive Choice in Male Wistar Rats
Document Type
Article
Journal/Book Title/Conference
Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology
Volume
18
Issue
3
Publisher
American Psychological Association
Publication Date
2010
First Page
267
Last Page
276
Abstract
Clinical reports, primarily with Parkinson's disease patients, note an association between the prescribed use of pramipexole (and other direct-acting dopamine agonist medications) and impulse control disorders, particularly pathological gambling. Two experiments examined the effects of acute pramipexole on rats' impulsive choices where impulsivity was defined as selecting a smaller–sooner over a larger–later food reward. In Experiment 1, pramipexole (0.1 to 0.3 mg/kg) significantly increased impulsive choices in a condition in which few impulsive choices were made during a stable baseline. In a control condition, in which impulsive choices predominated during baseline, pramipexole did not significantly change the same rats' choices. Experiment 2 explored a wider range of doses (0.01 to 0.3 mg/kg) using a choice procedure in which delays to the larger–later reinforcer delivery increased across trial blocks within each session. At the doses used in Experiment 1, pramipexole shifted choice toward indifference regardless of the operative delay. At lower doses of pramipexole (0.01 and 0.03 mg/kg), a trend toward more impulsive choice was observed at the 0.03 mg/kg dose. The difference in outcomes across experiments may be due to the more complex discriminations required in Experiment 2, that is, multiple discriminations between changing delays within each session.
Recommended Citation
Madden, G. J., Johnson, P., Brewer, A., Pinkston, J. W., & Fowler, S. C. (2010). Effects of pramipexole on impulsive choice in male Wistar rats. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 18, 267-276.
Comments
Originally published by the American Psychological Association.
This article may not exactly replicate the final version published in the APA journal. It is not the copy of record.
Publisher's PDF available for purchase through remote link.
Note: Gregory Madden was affiliated with the University of Kansas at time of publication.