Honors Program
Honors in Psychology
Date of Award
12-2013
Thesis Professor(s)
Russell Brown
Thesis Professor Department
Psychology
Abstract
The aim of this thesis is to examine the mechanisms of Methylphenidate (MPH) on Conditioned Place Preference (CPP), a behavioral test of reward. The psychostimulant MPH is therapeutically used in the treatment of ADHD, but has been implicated in many pharmacological actions related to drug addiction and is considered to have abuse potential. Past work in our lab and others have shown substantial sex-differences in the neuropharmacological profile of MPH. Here a discussion of the relevant mechanisms of action of MPH and its relationship to neurotrophins and CPP are reviewed. Furthermore, previous work is reviewed and a rationale for two experiments are presented. The study resulted in two experiments conducted earlier this year. Each experiment is presented, examining sex differences in CPP in two different methodological paradigms as well as the effects of MPH on levels of the dopamine transporter (DAT) in striatal and accumbal neurons.
Document Type
Honors Thesis - Open Access
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Watson, Bryce D., "Comparison between Two Methodological Paradigms of Conditioned Place Preference with Methlyphenidate." (2013). Undergraduate Honors Theses. Paper 89. https://dc.etsu.edu/honors/89
Copyright
Copyright by the authors.