Effects and aftereffects of ibogaine on morphine self-administration in rats.
S D Glick, K Rossman, S Steindorf, I M Maisonneuve, J N Carlson
European journal of pharmacology April 3, 1991 DOI: 10.1016/0014-2999(91)90474-5
Summary
Ibogaine significantly reduced morphine intake in rats, with doses ranging from 2.5 to 80 mg/kg leading to an acute decrease in self-administration within an hour. Notably, some rats exhibited a persistent reduction in morphine consumption lasting several days or weeks after just one ibogaine injection. In contrast, ibogaine's effects on water-seeking behavior did not show lasting changes. This suggests that ibogaine may specifically alter the reinforcement of morphine rather than affecting general motivation for other rewards.
Abstract
Ibogaine, a naturally occurring alkaloid, has been claimed to be effective in treating addition to opiate and stimulant drugs. As a preclinical test of this claim, the present study sought to determine if ibogaine would reduce the intravenous self-administration of morphine in rats. Ibogaine dose dependently (2.5-80 mg/kg) decreased morphine intake in the hour after ibogaine treatment (acute effect) and, to a lesser extent, a day later (aftereffect); while the acute effect could be attributed to abnormal motor behavior (whole body tremors), the aftereffect occurred at a time when ibogaine should have been entirely eliminated from the body and when there was no obvious indication of ibogaine exposure. In some rats, there was a persistent decrease in morphine intake for several days or weeks after a single injection of ibogaine; other rats began to show such persistent changes only after two or three weekly injections whereas a few rats were apparently resistant to prolonged aftereffects. Aftereffects could not be attributed to a conditioned aversion. Although ibogaine also depressed responding acutely in rats trained to bar-press for water, there was no evidence of any aftereffect a day or more later; the interaction between ibogaine and morphine reinforcement was therefore somewhat specific. Further studies are needed to characterize the nature of the ibogaine-morphine interaction as well as to determine if ibogaine also affects the self-administration of other drugs.