Date of Award

12-1983

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Dr. Frederick P. Gault

Second Advisor

Dr. Alan Poling

Third Advisor

Dr. Chris Koronakos

Access Setting

Masters Thesis-Open Access

Abstract

Several doses of caffeine-sodium benzoate (0.0, 2.5, 5.0, 10.0 & 20.0 mg/kg, stated as salt) were administered daily by intraperitoneal injections (IP) for an initial twelve consecutive days which constituted Phase I. A probe-dose of nicotine (2.0 mg/kg) was administered in combination with each caffeine dose for the following seven days comprising Phase II. Removal of nicotine subsequent to the last day of Phase II initiated a second caffeine-only (nicotine withdrawal) condition, Phase III. Tests of locomotion and aggression ensued at various points of the study and water intakes and body weights were recorded daily, prior to injections. Overall, locomotion increased as a function of caffeine dose with the exception on Day 1 of Phase II. Muricidal aggression was enhanced at higher doses of caffeine, but not with lower doses. Even though previous research indicated nicotine's ability to suppress the muricide, nicotine did not suppress the caffeine-induced attack analyzed in the present study. Caffeine markedly increased water consumption across all phases as a function of dose, and the 10.0 mg/kg dose was statistically different from all other doses. The 2.0 mg/kg nicotine dose in Phase II produced additional increases in water intake, in comparison to Phase I, regardless of the concurrently administered dose of caffeine. Caffeine dose was also found to subtly influence body weight.

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