Long-term oscillation of corticosterone following intermittent cocaine

Abstract

We have shown that repeated administration of cocaine, as well as other drugs and nondrug stressors, can induce alternating increases and decreases in several neurotransmitter and endocrine endpoints, which we call oscillation. Oscillation studies have typically used 3-4 pretreatments with cocaine or other agents, raising the question of whether oscillation lasts beyond this point. Using plasma corticosterone as our endpoint measure, we therefore inquired whether oscillation would persist across eight administrations of cocaine over a 28-day period. We report oscillation of corticosterone levels persisting across all eight cocaine groups. Our data also indicate that the degree of oscillation increases with the intertreatment interval.