Glucocorticoids hormones have been shown to play an important role in modulating the behavioral effects of psychostimulant drugs. Studies on the effects of these hormones on drug responding have been performed by modifying glucocorticoid levels and by examining the behavioral consequences of these manipulations. In this section, we will review the role of glucocorticoids on drug-induced behavioral responses, such as locomotor activity, self-administration and relapse. We will mostly focus on the role of basal levels of glucocorticoid, and less so on the role of stress levels of the hormone, as this topic has been addressed very thoroughly in another review in this book (Lu and Shaham, 2004).
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