Khat-induced conditioned place preference, extinction, and reinstatement in female mice

Khat (Catha edulis Forsk), the natural source of cathinone and other psychoactive agents, is chewed by millions of persons in eastern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula for its psychostimulant effect. Using the conditioned place preference paradigm, this study tested fresh khat extract for place prefe...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Caroline K. Murithi, Jacques M. Kabaru, Nilesh B. Patel
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-06-01
Series:IBRO Neuroscience Reports
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667242124001088
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849334787401056256
author Caroline K. Murithi
Jacques M. Kabaru
Nilesh B. Patel
author_facet Caroline K. Murithi
Jacques M. Kabaru
Nilesh B. Patel
author_sort Caroline K. Murithi
collection DOAJ
description Khat (Catha edulis Forsk), the natural source of cathinone and other psychoactive agents, is chewed by millions of persons in eastern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula for its psychostimulant effect. Using the conditioned place preference paradigm, this study tested fresh khat extract for place preference induction, extinction, and reinstatement. Female mice treated with 100 and 250 mg/kg of khat extract showed conditioned place preference, which was extinguished following a 16-day khat-free period. However, the place preference was reinstated following the first priming dose of the khat extract but not with the second priming dose done 35 days after the last conditioning treatment. The results show that khat has a rewarding/reinforcing property and can also lead to relapse behavior in persons attempting to stop khat use.
format Article
id doaj-art-9f24c2422fda4eea8a65b364c7b19588
institution Kabale University
issn 2667-2421
language English
publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series IBRO Neuroscience Reports
spelling doaj-art-9f24c2422fda4eea8a65b364c7b195882025-08-20T03:45:28ZengElsevierIBRO Neuroscience Reports2667-24212025-06-01181510.1016/j.ibneur.2024.11.015Khat-induced conditioned place preference, extinction, and reinstatement in female miceCaroline K. Murithi0Jacques M. Kabaru1Nilesh B. Patel2Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Nairobi, P.O. Box 30197- 00100, Nairobi, Kenya; Corresponding author.Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Nairobi, P.O. Box 30197- 00100, Nairobi, KenyaDepartment of Human Anatomy and Medical Physiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Nairobi, P.O. Box 30197- 00100, Nairobi, KenyaKhat (Catha edulis Forsk), the natural source of cathinone and other psychoactive agents, is chewed by millions of persons in eastern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula for its psychostimulant effect. Using the conditioned place preference paradigm, this study tested fresh khat extract for place preference induction, extinction, and reinstatement. Female mice treated with 100 and 250 mg/kg of khat extract showed conditioned place preference, which was extinguished following a 16-day khat-free period. However, the place preference was reinstated following the first priming dose of the khat extract but not with the second priming dose done 35 days after the last conditioning treatment. The results show that khat has a rewarding/reinforcing property and can also lead to relapse behavior in persons attempting to stop khat use.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667242124001088Catha edulisKhatConditioned place preferenceCathinoneExtinctionRelapse
spellingShingle Caroline K. Murithi
Jacques M. Kabaru
Nilesh B. Patel
Khat-induced conditioned place preference, extinction, and reinstatement in female mice
IBRO Neuroscience Reports
Catha edulis
Khat
Conditioned place preference
Cathinone
Extinction
Relapse
title Khat-induced conditioned place preference, extinction, and reinstatement in female mice
title_full Khat-induced conditioned place preference, extinction, and reinstatement in female mice
title_fullStr Khat-induced conditioned place preference, extinction, and reinstatement in female mice
title_full_unstemmed Khat-induced conditioned place preference, extinction, and reinstatement in female mice
title_short Khat-induced conditioned place preference, extinction, and reinstatement in female mice
title_sort khat induced conditioned place preference extinction and reinstatement in female mice
topic Catha edulis
Khat
Conditioned place preference
Cathinone
Extinction
Relapse
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667242124001088
work_keys_str_mv AT carolinekmurithi khatinducedconditionedplacepreferenceextinctionandreinstatementinfemalemice
AT jacquesmkabaru khatinducedconditionedplacepreferenceextinctionandreinstatementinfemalemice
AT nileshbpatel khatinducedconditionedplacepreferenceextinctionandreinstatementinfemalemice