TY - JOUR

AU - Lambert, Chase Steven

AU - Goeders, Nicholas
AU - Guerin, Glenn
TI - Effects of Fluoxetine on the Acquisition of Methamphetamine Self-
Administration in Rats
JO - The FASEB Journal
JA - FASEB J
VL - 23
IS - S1
SN - 0892-6638
UR - https://doi.org/10.1096/fasebj.23.1_supplement.588.12
DO - https://doi.org/10.1096/fasebj.23.1_supplement.588.12
SP - 588.12
EP - 588.12
PY - 2009
AB - Fluoxetine is a SSRI commonly used to treat depression. Like other SSRIs, it
blocks the reuptake of serotonin, a neurotransmitter involved in mood regulation,
at the neuronal synapse. Methamphetamine users experience a 'high' due in part to
the release of excess serotonin in the brain. Therefore, it can be assumed that
some of the same neurological pathways that cause the excess release of serotonin
due to fluoxetine are also involved in dopamine release due to methamphetamine. So,
what would happen if someone that had taken or was currently taking fluoxetine
tried methamphetamine? Would they be more or less sensitive to the drug and its
effects? More importantly, would they need the same does of methamphetamine to
achieve the same 'high?' Would it take a weaker dose, meaning that they were more
sensitive to the drug's effects? Or would they require a stronger dose, meaning
either that they were developing a tolerance to the drug, or that its effects were
less reinforcing? Are people suffering from depression and other psychological
disorders at a greater risk for methamphetamine abuse? In order to further examine
this possible risk, groups of Wistar rats were used and subjected to varying pre-
treatments and continued treatments of vehicle, fluoxetine, and methamphetamine
throughout the course of the experiment.
ER -