Smith, B. J., & Bickel, W. K. (1999).
Comparing single and cumulative dosing procedures in human triazolam discriminators.
Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior,
71, 417-437.
This study evaluated a cumulative dosing procedure for drug
discrimination with human participants. Four participants learned
to discriminate triazolam (0.35 mg/70 kg) from placebo. A
crossover design was used to compare the results under a single
dosing procedure with results obtained under a cumulative dosing
procedure. Under the single dosing procedure, a dose of triazolam
(0, 0.05, 0.15, or 0.35 mg/70 kg) or secobarbital (0, 25, 75, or
175 mg/70 kg) was administered 45 min before assessment.
Determining each dose—effect curve thus required four
sessions. Under the cumulative dosing procedure, four doses of
triazolam (0, 0.05, 0.10, and 0.20 mg/70 kg) or secobarbital (0,
25, 50, and 100 mg/70 kg) were administered approximately 55 min
apart, producing a complete dose—effect curve in one
four-trial session. Regardless of procedure, triazolam and
secobarbital produced discriminative stimulus and self-reported
effects similar to previous single dosing studies in humans.
Shifts to the right in cumulative dose—effect curves
compared to single dose—effect curves occurred on several
self-report measures. When qualitative stimulus functions rather
than quantitative functions are of interest, application of
cumulative dosing may increase efficiency in human drug
discrimination.
Key words: cumulative dosing, drug discrimination, novel-response
procedure, triazolam, secobarbital, subjective effects, humans