Conditioned dopaminergic activity.

These studies examine the possibility that drugs (amphetamine and apomorphine) affecting dopamine metabolism might show conditioning properties and tests the hypothesis that dopaminergic activity might be responsible for any conditioning seen. If environmental cues can act as conditioning signals, affecting the activity of dopaminergic neurons, conditioning factors might contribute to fluctuations in the clinical status of individuals with neurologic or psychiatric conditions influenced by alterations in dopamine metabolism or receptor function. In addition conditioning phenomena might contribute an important physiological component to the problem of stimulant addiction, in a manner similar to that suggested for the opiates (Wikler, 1961; O'Brien et al., 1977a). The relevance of these studies to the continuing attempts to elucidate the neurobiological mechanisms of learning should also be emphasized.