ArticleJournal of neuroscience methods2024
Rats chasing the dragon: A new heroin inhalation method.
Article in Journal of neuroscience methods, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed, 2 citations in OpenAlex.
- Impact of Age on Heroin Intravenous Self-Administration in Wistar Rats.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Enhancing translation: A need to leverage complex preclinical models of addictive drugs to accelerate substance use treatment options.Pharmacology, biochemistry, and behavior · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
- Update of
Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundDespite extensive human use of inhalation for ingesting opioids, models in rodents have mostly been limited to parenteral injection and oral dosing. Methods using electronic drug delivery systems (EDDS; "e-cigarettes") have shown efficacy in rodent models but these do not faithfully mimic the most popular human inhalation method of heating heroin to the point of vaporization. NEW
methodMiddle aged rats were exposed to vapor created by direct heating of heroin HCl powder in a ceramic e-cigarette type atomizer. Efficacy was determined with a warm water tail withdrawal nociception assay, rectal temperature and self-administration.
resultsTen minutes of inhalation of vaporized heroin slowed response latency in a warm water tail withdrawal assay and increased rectal temperature in male rats, in a dose-dependent manner. Similar antinociceptive effects in female rats were attenuated by the opioid antagonist naloxone (1.0 mg/kg, s.c.). Female rats made operant responses for heroin vapor in 15-minute sessions, increased their response rate when the reinforcement ratio increased from FR1 to FR5, and further increased their responding when vapor delivery was omitted. Anti-nociceptive effects of self-administered volatilized heroin were of a similar magnitude as those produced by the 10-minute non-contingent exposure. COMPARISON WITH EXISTING
methodsInhalation of directly volatilized heroin successfully produces heroin-typical effects, comparable to EDDS inhalation delivery.
conclusionsThis study shows that "chasing the dragon" methods of inhalation of heroin can be modeled successfully in the rat. Inhalation techniques may be particularly useful for longer term studies deep into the middle age of rats.
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Registered trials
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