MDMA alters fear extinction, and reduces alcohol consumption in inbred alcohol preferring iP rats but not outbred Wistar rats
Kade L. Huckstep·Leigh C. Walker·Dan I. Lubman·Kirsten C. Morley·Erin J. Campbell·Grace Bailey·Xavier J. Maddern·Robyn Brown·Shalini Arunogiri·Gavan P. McNally·Amy J. Pearl·Billi Newton·Andrew J. Lawrence·Annai J. Charlton
Comorbidity between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol use is common and mutually-reinforcing, yet there are no pharmacological strategies that specifically target trauma-linked escalation of alcohol intake. We evaluated whether 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), given in a therapy-adjunctive fashion (30 min before fear extinction), could facilitate extinction of conditioned fear and reduce alcohol consumption in a rat model that combines fear conditioning, binge-like alcoh