Modification of Serial Pattern Learning by Designer Tryptamine Exposure during Adolescence: Comparison with Damage to the Dorsal Hippocampus or Prefrontal Cortex
December 1, 2012 D. Compton, Melissa C. Selinger, E. Westman et al.
Recreational use of the club drug 5-MeO-DIPT (Foxy) has increased, but its neurobiological effects are poorly understood. In this animal study, adolescent rats received repeated injections of 10 mg/kg of 5-MeO-DIPT, MDMA, or saline. As adults, they were trained for 30 days on a nonmonotonic serial learning task involving food pellets. Control rats distinguished among the series elements, but tracking performance in both drug-treated groups improved with training yet after 30 days was not markedly different from that of rats with hippocampal or prefrontal cortex lesions. The findings suggest that compromised serotoninergic systems from adolescent drug exposure impair cognitive processes in appetitive serial learning.