TY - JOUR
T1 - Relationship between drug discrimination and ratings of subjective effects
T2 - Implications for assessing and understanding the abuse potential of D-amphetamine in humans
AU - Reynolds, Anna R.
AU - Bolin, B. Levi
AU - Stoops, William W.
AU - Rush, Craig R.
PY - 2013/9
Y1 - 2013/9
N2 - The discriminative and subjective effects of drugs in humans are related, but the full extent of this relationship remains to be determined. To further explore this relationship, a retrospective analysis was conducted on data from six studies completed in our laboratory that used identical procedures. The relationship between the discriminative and subjective effects of a range of doses of D-amphetamine (i.e. 2.5-15 mg) was examined using correlational analyses. Significant correlations with discrimination performance were observed on 15 of 20 items from the Drug-Effect Questionnaire across a range of qualities [e.g. Pay For (a positive effect indicative of abuse potential) and Active (a stimulant-like effect)], but the magnitude of these relationships was modest (r<0.52). The current findings demonstrate that diverse subjective effects contribute to the discriminative effects of D-amphetamine and indicate that the former are a more practical means to assess the abuse potential of drugs. Although these procedures are fundamentally related in that they rely on the presence of an interoceptive drug state, they differ in the dimension(s) of the interoceptive effects that participants must quantify. The simultaneous use of drug discrimination and subjective effects may, therefore, reveal complimentary aspects of drug effects that underlie their potential for abuse.
AB - The discriminative and subjective effects of drugs in humans are related, but the full extent of this relationship remains to be determined. To further explore this relationship, a retrospective analysis was conducted on data from six studies completed in our laboratory that used identical procedures. The relationship between the discriminative and subjective effects of a range of doses of D-amphetamine (i.e. 2.5-15 mg) was examined using correlational analyses. Significant correlations with discrimination performance were observed on 15 of 20 items from the Drug-Effect Questionnaire across a range of qualities [e.g. Pay For (a positive effect indicative of abuse potential) and Active (a stimulant-like effect)], but the magnitude of these relationships was modest (r<0.52). The current findings demonstrate that diverse subjective effects contribute to the discriminative effects of D-amphetamine and indicate that the former are a more practical means to assess the abuse potential of drugs. Although these procedures are fundamentally related in that they rely on the presence of an interoceptive drug state, they differ in the dimension(s) of the interoceptive effects that participants must quantify. The simultaneous use of drug discrimination and subjective effects may, therefore, reveal complimentary aspects of drug effects that underlie their potential for abuse.
KW - D-amphetamine
KW - abuse potential
KW - drug discrimination
KW - human
KW - subjective effects
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84881552355&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84881552355&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1097/FBP.0b013e328364505f
DO - 10.1097/FBP.0b013e328364505f
M3 - Article
C2 - 23851485
AN - SCOPUS:84881552355
SN - 0955-8810
VL - 24
SP - 523
EP - 532
JO - Behavioural Pharmacology
JF - Behavioural Pharmacology
IS - 5-6
ER -