COCAINE AND BODY-TEMPERATURE IN THE RAT - EFFECTS OF AMBIENT-TEMPERATURE

The laboratory rat is being developed as a model to determine whether abuse of cocaine constitutes a risk factor in the pathogenesis of stress or exertion-induced heatstroke. Under thermoneutral conditions (Ta 20 °C) cocaine (10-40 mg/kg i.p.) caused a dose-dependent fall in core temperature ranging from 0.45 ± 0.18 to 1.77 ± 0.26 °C. When the ambient temperature (Ta) was increased to 35 °C, cocaine (10-40 mg/kg i.p.) led to a dose-dependent hyperthermia (0.3 ± 0.08 to 1.43 ± 0.43 °C). Repeated injection of cocaine (40 mg/kg at Ta 20 °C or 20 mg/kg at Ta 40 °C) on days 1, 3, 8, 15, and 23 did not alter the magnitude of the temperature change compared to that following the first injection, i.e., neither tolerance nor potentiation occurred. © 1990 S. Karger AG, Basel.