Effect of unit dose and route of administration on self-administration of morphine.

Rats were implanted with intravenous or intragastric cannulas and allowed to self-administer morphine sulfate in doses of 0 (saline), 0.03, 0.1, 0.3, 1.0, 3.0, and 10.0 mg/kg/infusion. For the intravenous route the number of infusions decreased with increasing unit dose, while the amount self-administered was directly related to unit dose. However, for the intragastric route the number of infusions first increased and then decreased as unit dose was elevated, while the amount self-administered again increased with unit dose. Comparisons between routes showed that for intragastric subjects the number of infusions and amount self-administered both were lower at the two lowest doses but higher for all other doses. These results support the expectation that intravenous injection should produce more potent reinforcing effects than intragastric administration.