Chronic exposure to cadmium attenuates behavioral sensitization to morphine.

The purpose of this investigation was to assess the impact of dietary cadmium on morphine-induced changes in locomotor activity. Adult male rats were exposed ad libitum to an adulterated food supply containing 100 ppm added cadmium chloride, or an identical diet containing no added cadmium, for 45 days prior to testing for the locomotor activating effects of successive daily morphine administration (0, 5, 10, or 20 mg/kg per session) on locomotor activity. On day 1 of testing, increasing doses of morphine produced a dose-related suppression of activity, and this sedative effect was greater in control than in cadmium-exposed animals. Repeated morphine administration resulted in tolerance to the sedative effects of the drug, and a systematic elevation of locomotor activity over the 14-day testing period was observed, with the augmentation (sensitization) effect more pronounced in control than cadmium-exposed animals. There was no indication that conditioning (context) events played a role in the effects observed here.