Drug info - cocaine and reversal learning

[epote]

reversal learning is the ability of the brain to adapt to alterations of cognitive distribution in a stimulus-responce-reward matter. To simplify this, assume you have a class full of kids, ideally you reward the children that dont talk to their classmates (or punish those that do). Though when it comes to class participation you reward them for talking and being a part of the prosses. As you see there exist a revercal of stimulus-responce-reward. Thats reversal learning.

Cocaine is known to be a pottent inhibitor of this process which is not that obvious, cocaine blunts or overpowers the mechanisms that mediate the reward mechanism, i.e. it gives a very general not stimulus specific reward ergo the distinction between what gives what kind of reward is lost and the prossess of learning disturbed.

There was study done on monkeys both with one accute dose of cocaine (1mg/kg) and several chronic doses and it was obvious that learning ability was impaired (1).

What buggers me and i want your info is this:

a) have you noticed anything like this in SWIY tha uses cocaine (or actully to somebody who isnt you:P)
b) how far can the fact that our brain is much more advanced take us? I mean, we can distinguish between what must and what must not not only in a primitive reward manner but also with the higher cerebral parts of our cognition (though that isnt the case initially im talking about inteligent adults).
c) could a rapid administration of cocaine AFTER a stimulus cause faster learning? i.e to brute force your way into knowing

Any thoughts or experiences?

1) Impairments of Reversal Learning and Response Perseveration after Repeated, Intermittent Cocaine Administrations to Monkeys

[stoneinfocus]

Yes, it does, it´s old and known fpor amphetamines, it´s the dopamine and somehow this increases the learningcurve -cocaine being used by artists and the like isn´t just because there were no relations to creativity and learning.

You might be right, swim is a lot more distinct in a manner of knowing where to go and how to perform this and as always, animal model of psychological effects of neurological drugs lack the comprehensive value to homo sapiens in most cases, because our consciousness is something thought to be unique in nature.

[Jatelka]

epote: Could your flamingo give a full reference?

ie: Study title, authors, journal, date of publication etc.

If SWIY has the paper then please upload it to the file archive.

[epote]

yes i do have the full paper, ill upload it if i can figure out how ASAP.

it was published in neuropharmacology 2002 vol 26

edit:

ok its up here you go: http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/loc...=1601&catid=25

Reputation Comments on this post:

Nice Paper, Thanks