Cardiovascular responses elicited during binge administration of cocaine

• Published in: Physiology & behavior Vol. 80; no. 1; pp. 115 - 122
• Main Authors: Hicks, Alissa R., Ogden, Brian A., Varner, Kurt J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge Elsevier Inc 01.10.2003; New York, NY Elsevier
• Subjects: Acetylcholine - pharmacology; Animals; Arterial pressure; Binge; Biological and medical sciences; Blood Pressure - drug effects; Cardiovascular System - drug effects; Cocaine; Cocaine - pharmacology; Cocaine-Related Disorders - physiopathology; Disease Models, Animal; Drug Interactions; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Heart rate; Heart Rate - drug effects; Male; Miscellaneous; Nitroprusside - pharmacology; Personality. Affectivity; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Radiotelemetry; Rat; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Serotonin - pharmacology; Vasodilator Agents - pharmacology; Heart rate; Arterial pressure; Cocaine; Radiotelemetry; Rat; Binge; Animal model; Cardiovascular control; Rodentia; Experimental study; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Investigation method; Addiction; Animal; Drug of abuse; Blood pressure; Hemodynamics
• ISSN: 0031-9384; 1873-507X
• DOI: 10.1016/S0031-9384(03)00221-X

Cocaine use is often characterized by a repeated pattern of frequent administrations (binge) followed by periods of abstinence. The repeated binge administration of methamphetamine and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) alters cardiovascular function and the arterial pressure and heart rate responses elicited by these drugs. Whether repeated binges of cocaine similarly affect cardiovascular function and cardiovascular responsiveness is unknown. Radiotelemetry was used to record the cardiovascular responses elicited during three successive cocaine binges (5 mg/kg, t.i.d., for 4 days) in conscious, unrestrained rats. Each binge was separated by a 10-day cocaine-free period. The effects of cocaine administration on vascular reactivity and vasovagal, Bezold–Jarisch reflex function were also evaluated. The intravenous administration of cocaine increased both mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate. The arterial pressure and heart rate responses elicited by cocaine, both within and between the binges, were remarkably similar. The arterial pressure and heart rate responses elicited by the intravenous administration of sodium nitroprusside, acetylcholine and phenylephrine before each binge and 10 days after the last binge were not altered after the binge administration of cocaine. Likewise, Bezold–Jarisch reflex function elicited by intravenous serotonin was unchanged after the binge administration of cocaine. These results indicate that the administration of cocaine using this repeated binge model does not alter the arterial pressure and heart rate responses elicited by the drug, nor does it alter the cardiovascular responses elicited by a variety of vasoactive substances.