The development and expression of locomotor sensitization to nicotine in the presence of ibogaine.
Behavioural pharmacology – August 01, 2000
Source: PubMed
Summary
Many believe ibogaine can combat nicotine addiction, but its precise effect on how the body adapts to nicotine has been a mystery. Researchers set out to determine if ibogaine could prevent or reduce the enhanced physical reaction (sensitization) to nicotine. Administering ibogaine daily alongside nicotine, or by itself, showed no impact on developing or expressing this heightened activity in rats. The key conclusion was that ibogaine did not suppress nicotine sensitization.
Abstract
Ibogaine is a naturally occurring psychoactive alkaloid with claimed efficacy in the treatment of certain drug addictions, including nicotine. It has been reported to be a non-competitive blocker of nicotinic receptors, with a potent inhibitory action on nicotinic acetylcholine receptor-mediated catecholamine release. We have investigated the effect of different doses of ibogaine on the development and expression of sensitization to the locomotor stimulant effect of nicotine in rats, a facilitatory process in which a history of exposure to nicotine results in enhanced locomotor activity when the same dose of nicotine is administered repeatedly. The effects were determined of co-administering ibogaine (0.0, 5.0 or 10 mg/kg i.p.) with nicotine (0.0 or 0.4 mg/kg s.c.) daily for 21 days. Dose-response curves for nicotine (0.04-0.8 mg/kg s.c.) were then determined in groups of 10 rats. There was clear sensitization of the locomotor activity produced by nicotine in photocell activity cages but co-administration of ibogaine with nicotine had no effect on the degree of sensitization. Ibogaine (5-20 mg/kg) itself did not influence locomotor activity and was also without effect on the expression of the sensitized response to 0.4 mg/kg of nicotine (n = 10). Thus, there was no evidence that ibogaine may retard or suppress sensitization to nicotine.