Investigation of the Interaction of d-Amphetamine and Amantadine Hydrochloride Using Repeated Acquisitions with Serial Reversal Discriminations

The purpose of this series of studies was to investigate the interaction of d-amphetamine and amantadine hydrochloride employing serial discrimination reversals with repeated acquisitions. Specifically, the blockade of the effects of d-amphetamine by amantadine hydrochloride was investigated.

In meeting this goal, dose-response curves were determined independently for d-amphetamine and amantadine hydrochloride. The dose-response curve for d-amphetamine indicated that the 0.5 mg/kg dosage provided for optimal discrimination of SDR, while dosages of 1.0 mg/kg and 2.0 mg/kg proved to be disruptive. The experiments investigating amantadine hydrochloride indicated that dosages above 10 mg/kg were detrimental to the discrimination task, while dosages below 10 mg/kg seemed to have negligible effect.

The analysis of the final experiment, in which amantadine hydrochloride was given as a pretreatment 90 minutes before d-amphetamine treatment, indicated that amantadine hydrochloride did not block the effects of d-amphetamine on learning. Rather, the interaction of the two drugs appears to be synergistic in nature rather than inhibitory.