The disruptive effects of methamphetamine on delayed-matching-to-sample performance reflect proactive interference and are reduced by SCH23390

• Published in: Pharmacology, biochemistry and behavior Vol. 128; pp. 62 - 67
• Main Authors: Macaskill, Anne C., Harrow, Catherine C., Harper, David N.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.01.2015
• Subjects: Amphetamine-Related Disorders - physiopathology; Amphetamine-Related Disorders - psychology; Animals; Benzazepines - administration & dosage; Benzazepines - pharmacology; Central Nervous System Stimulants - administration & dosage; Central Nervous System Stimulants - antagonists & inhibitors; Central Nervous System Stimulants - toxicity; Delayed matching-to-sample; Disease Models, Animal; Dopamine Antagonists - administration & dosage; Dopamine Antagonists - pharmacology; Male; Memory; Memory Disorders - chemically induced; Memory Disorders - physiopathology; Memory Disorders - psychology; Memory, Short-Term - drug effects; Memory, Short-Term - physiology; Methamphetamine; Methamphetamine - administration & dosage; Methamphetamine - antagonists & inhibitors; Methamphetamine - toxicity; N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine - toxicity; Proactive interference; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Receptors, Dopamine D1 - physiology; Proactive interference; Rats; Delayed matching-to-sample; Memory; Methamphetamine
• ISSN: 0091-3057; 1873-5177; 1873-5177
• DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2014.11.009

Different drugs produce different patterns of impairment on delayed matching-to-sample tasks. For example, (+/−)3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) produces an increase in proactive interference. That is, subjects are less accurate when they are required to make a response different to the one they made on the immediately previous trial. The current study assessed whether methamphetamine also produces this particular pattern of disruption in delayed matching-to-sample performance in rats. Methamphetamine primarily reduced accuracy on trials where the correct response differed from the one made on the previous trial. Thus methamphetamine, like MDMA and other stimulant-based drugs of abuse, increased proactive interference. This impairment was reduced by prior administration of the dopamine D1 antagonist SCH23390. These results further extend a general conclusion that a range of stimulant-based drugs may disrupt working memory function indirectly via a tendency to repeat previously made responses and that this disruption is related to D1 receptor activity. •We characterize the pattern of memory disruption produced by methamphetamine.•Disruptions to delayed matching-to-sample performance reflected proactive interference.•Methamphetamine produces similar memory disruptions to MDMA.•Methamphetamine's effect on memory was reduced by the D1 antagonist SCH23390.