Adulthood Outcomes in Rats Following Repeated Adolescent Exposure to 1-Benzylpiperazine (BZP) and/or Ethanol.

Type of content
Theses / Dissertations
Publisher's DOI/URI
Thesis discipline
Psychology
Degree name
Master of Science
Publisher
University of Canterbury. Psychology
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Language
Date
2008
Authors
Perry, James Colin
Abstract

In New Zealand, it is common for young people to mix 1-benzylpiperazine (BZP) containing 'party pills' and ethanol (drinking alcohol). However, there is no scientific literature which compares the individual and combined long-term effects of these substances. Therefore, the aim of this study was to provide a comparison of BZP and ethanol's individual and combined effects on adulthood behaviour following repeated adolescent exposure. To investigate this 40 male and 40 female adolescent rats received daily exposure (post natal days 41 - 50) to BZP (10 mg/kg) and/or ethanol (2 g/kg) or saline vehicle (1 ml/kg) via intraperitoneal injection. Animals were tested in a Y maze, light/dark emergence box, and an open field during early adulthood (PND 78 - 81) and again during mid-adulthood (PND 117 - 120). Results found females treated with alcohol ambulated less in the open field. Interestingly, no other behavioural differences between the treatment groups were observed. Overall, it appeared that adolescent exposure to BZP and/or alcohol did not have long-term behavioural consequences, at least in rats. This finding was most likely due to the narrow range of testing ages adopted in the study.

Description
Citation
Keywords
1-benzylpiperazine, ethanol, adolescence
Ngā upoko tukutuku/Māori subject headings
ANZSRC fields of research
Rights
Copyright James Colin Perry