University of Canterbury Home
    • Admin
    UC Research Repository
    UC Library
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.
    View Item 
    1. UC Home
    2. Library
    3. UC Research Repository
    4. Faculty of Science | Te Kaupeka Pūtaiao
    5. Science: Theses and Dissertations
    6. View Item
    1. UC Home
    2.  > 
    3. Library
    4.  > 
    5. UC Research Repository
    6.  > 
    7. Faculty of Science | Te Kaupeka Pūtaiao
    8.  > 
    9. Science: Theses and Dissertations
    10.  > 
    11. View Item

    The Acute Effects of Methamphetamine and 1-Benzylpiperazine on Aggressive Behaviour in Adolescent Male Hooded Rats (2010)

    Thumbnail
    View/Open
    FinalThesis.pdf (387.8Kb)
    Type of Content
    Theses / Dissertations
    UC Permalink
    http://hdl.handle.net/10092/5233
    http://dx.doi.org/10.26021/5690
    
    Thesis Discipline
    Psychology
    Degree Name
    Master of Science
    Publisher
    University of Canterbury. Psychology
    Collections
    • Science: Theses and Dissertations [4655]
    Authors
    Johnson, Hamish Neil Leonard
    show all
    Abstract

    Violent crime and aggressive behaviour are of increasing concern in New Zealand. Much of this is displayed by adolescent males who have an association with some form of substance use, abuse or dependence. This is especially relevant for stimulant drugs, especially methamphetamine (MA), and 1-benzylpiperazine (BZP). Previous research has shown that BZP has similar neurochemical and behavioural effects to MA, and there is a large volume of research showing an association between chronic MA use and aggression. In contrast to this, there has been little research into the consequences of a single administration of MA, which is often portrayed by the media as having the same detrimental effects as chronic use. The present study was designed to determine whether or not acute MA would induce aggressive behaviour in adolescent male hooded rats. In addition, the study also examined whether BZP had a similar effect to MA. Sixty male hooded rats aged between 41 to 50 postnatal days (PND), were utilised and divided into five groups of 12 rats each: saline; 1mg/kg (low dose) or 2mg/kg (high dose) MA; 10mg/kg (low dose) or 20mg/kg (high dose) BZP. The rats were tested using the resident/intruder test of aggression, consisting of eight measures of aggressive behaviour. The results suggested that, rats treated with either a low or high dose of MA or BZP were significantly less aggressive than saline-treated rats. There appeared to be little to distinguish between the two drugs in their effects on the responses recorded. It was concluded that an acute administration of either MA or BZP did not increase aggression, and thus did not support the view that aggression will result from a single dose of MA (or indeed BZP that has not been previously investigated in this context).

    Keywords
    Methamphetamine; Benzylpiperazine; aggression; rats; adolescence; resident-intruder
    Rights
    Copyright Hamish Neil Leonard Johnson
    https://canterbury.libguides.com/rights/theses

    Related items

    Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.

    • The Acute, Chronic, and Teratological Effects of Methamphetamine on Aggressive Behaviour in Adolescent Hooded Rats 

      Lowther, Courtney (University of Canterbury. Psychology, 2012)
      Methamphetamine is a widely abused psychostimulant often associated with aggressive, violent, and criminal behaviour. Research into the effects of adolescent methamphetamine use on aggressive behaviour is limited. This ...
    • Subsequent behavioural effects in adulthood of exposing male and female rats to caffeine, methamphetamine and their combination during adolescence. 

      Hughes, Hannah (2022)
      While caffeine is the most commonly consumed drug globally, its effect as an adulterant in methamphetamine is understudied. Most previous research has focused on caffeine and methamphetamine consumed in adulthood, with ...
    • Effects of chronic alcohol and nicotine consumption on aggressive behaviour of adolescent male rats. 

      Leafa, George (University of Canterbury, 2018)
      Adolescent rats were chronically treated with alcohol, nicotine or the combination of both for 16 days. Aggression was examined before, during and following chronic treatment using the resident-intruder paradigm for ...
    Advanced Search

    Browse

    All of the RepositoryCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThesis DisciplineThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThesis Discipline

    Statistics

    View Usage Statistics
    • SUBMISSIONS
    • Research Outputs
    • UC Theses
    • CONTACTS
    • Send Feedback
    • +64 3 369 3853
    • ucresearchrepository@canterbury.ac.nz
    • ABOUT
    • UC Research Repository Guide
    • Copyright and Disclaimer
    • SUBMISSIONS
    • Research Outputs
    • UC Theses
    • CONTACTS
    • Send Feedback
    • +64 3 369 3853
    • ucresearchrepository@canterbury.ac.nz
    • ABOUT
    • UC Research Repository Guide
    • Copyright and Disclaimer