Behavioral sensitization to dopaminergic inhibitory and stimulatory effects induced by low vs. high dose apomorphine treatments: An unconventional dose and response reversal sensitization challenge test reveals sensitization mechanisms

Low dose apomorphine treatments preferentially activate dopamine autoreceptors and inhibit dopamine neurons as well as behavior. In contrast, high doses of apomorphine induce locomotor stimulation by activating dopamine postsynaptic receptors. We compared the effects of low (0.05 mg/kg) vs. high (2.0 mg/kg) repeated apomorphine treatments (5) using paired/unpaired protocols upon the development of Pavlovian conditioned drug responses and upon drug sensitization effects. In addition to the conventional challenge test for sensitization, we also conducted a treatment reversal sensitization test in which low dose groups received the high dose treatment and vice versa. The high dose treatment produced the expected Pavlovian conditioned locomotor stimulant response as well as a sensitization effect in the high dose challenge test; but in the low dose challenge test, the effect was desensitization. The low dose apomorphine regimen induced an inhibitory sensitization effect in the low dose challenge test. In the high dose reversal challenge test, there was a sensitization effect to the locomotor stimulant effect. The low dose apomorphine treatments, however, did not produce a Pavlovian conditioned locomotor inhibitory effect. Surprisingly, the dose reversal challenge test revealed context-independent as well as context-specific sensitization/desensitization effects. These findings demonstrate that Pavlovian drug conditioned effects and drug sensitization effects are independent phenomena and that sensitization effects are not response specific. Moreover, context-specific vs. context-independent sensitization effects were protocol dependent but not drug dose dependent.