Social Influences on Drug-Seeking Behavior

项目摘要 流行病学研究一致报告，一个最可靠的预测因素， 青少年或年轻人是否会使用毒品取决于他或她的朋友是否使用毒品。社会学习理论 提出社会群体的成员模仿吸毒行为， 然后模仿这些行为。此外，社会群体的成员有选择地 根据该群体确立的规范加强/惩罚他人的吸毒行为。直到最近， 检验社会学习理论预测的实验研究受到限制， 伦理（人类研究）或技术（动物研究）限制建模和模仿 非法药物使用。在过去的五年里，我们开发并验证了定制的，IACUC批准的， 允许两只（或更多）大鼠通过静脉自我给药的操作性条件反射室 同时，并排，在同一个房间里。使用这些腔室，我们报告了药物自我给药可以根据伴侣的行为而增加或减少（即， 伴侣是否也自我给药）。在我们的研究项目的竞争性更新中 赠款（R 01 DA 031725，社会对吸毒行为的影响），我们将大大扩大使用 这些会议室，以促进我们的社会因素，有助于药物滥用的理解 以及它的治疗。在目标1中，我们将确定合作伙伴的（1）响应量或（2） 药物摄入量（即，中毒水平）通过分别操纵伴侣中的时间表和剂量维持反应来负责社会接触对药物自我给药的影响。 在目标2中，我们将研究强化刺激在决定社会接触效果中的作用 对药物摄入量的控制（可卡因，海洛因，食物）为两个大鼠的社会二分体。在Aim中 3，我们将测试社会接触如何影响药物干预的疗效，以减少 通过操纵伴侣在治疗过程中是否有机会获得可卡因来控制可卡因摄入量。在 目的4，我们将确定（1）社会强化和（2）社会惩罚对药物摄入的影响 通过给予或取消对依赖于药物自我给药的伴侣的访问。在所有研究中， 将使用雌性大鼠，并将性别作为生物学变量进行检查。长期目标是 该项目旨在确定更准确地预测社会群体内药物使用的因素， 纳入社会环境以减少吸毒的治疗干预措施。

PROJECT SUMMARY Epidemiological studies consistently report that one of the most reliable predictors of whether an adolescent or young adult will use drugs is whether his or her friends use drugs. Social learning theories of drug use propose that members of a social group model drug use behaviors and other members subsequently imitate those behaviors. Furthermore, members of the social group selectively reinforce/punish the drug use of others depending on the norms established by that group. Until recently, experimental studies examining the predictions of social learning theories have been limited because of ethical (human studies) or technical (animal studies) constraints limiting the modeling and imitation of illicit drug use. Over the last five years, we have developed and validated custom-built, IACUC-approved, operant conditioning chambers that permit two (or more) rats to intravenously self-administer drugs simultaneously, side-by-side, in the same chamber. Using these chambers, we reported that drug self-administration could either be increased or decreased depending on the behavior of a partner (i.e., whether the partner was also self-administering drugs). In this competing renewal of our research project grant (R01DA031725, Social Influences on Drug-Seeking Behavior), we will significantly expand the use of these chambers to advance our understanding of the social factors that contribute to substance abuse and its treatment. In Aim 1, we will determine whether a partner's (1) amount of responding or (2) amount of drug intake (i.e., level of intoxication) is responsible for the effects of social contact on drug self-administration by separately manipulating the schedule and dose maintaining responding in the partner. In Aim 2, we will examine the role of the reinforcing stimulus in determining the effects of social contact on drug intake by manipulating the reinforcer (cocaine, heroin, food) for both rats of a social dyad. In Aim 3, we will test how social contact influences the efficacy of a pharmacological intervention to reduce cocaine intake by manipulating whether a partner has access to cocaine over the course of treatment. In Aim 4, we will determine the effects of (1) social reinforcement and (2) social punishment on drug intake by giving or removing access to a partner contingent on drug self-administration. In all studies, both male and female rats will be used, and sex will be examined as a biological variable. The long-term goal of this project is to identify factors that more accurately predict drug use within social groups and to identify treatment interventions that incorporate the social environment to curtail drug use.