SMOKED DRUGS--MECHANISMS OF REINFORCEMENT

药物影响人类行为的机制很复杂，而且不是 很好理解。一种药物的最终效果将取决于 药物剂量、人的生理和精神状态之间的相互作用 心理状态，特殊的环境条件，以及 被测量的行为或测试的性质。我们的一种方法是 追求的是通过操纵环境条件来改变环境条件 受试者执行的强化(货币)或有事件 各种任务。这可以被认为是操纵受试者的 表演的动力。通过改变药物剂量和使用测试 衡量绩效的不同方面(例如，精神运动与 认知)，我们可以开始探索背后复杂的相互作用 药物对行为的影响。 研究药物影响机制的另一种方法 行为是关注精神活性物质造成的表现障碍 毒品。滥用药物对成绩的影响会产生 每年给国家造成的交通伤害和 工作场所的死亡和生产力损失。然而，对于大多数人来说， 毒品，我们缺乏对潜在的行为机制的基本知识 它们对人类表现的损害。一系列研究正在进行中 这将解决这些问题。一组生理上的， 行为和性能测量，旨在确定 个人因服用药物而造成行为损害的情况 已经用酒精、大麻和可卡因进行了测试。未来的研究将 检查安非他明、可待因和阿普唑仑对此的影响 测试电池以及对注意力和记忆力的认知测试。通过 在这些研究期间采集血液样本，我们将能够 获取有价值的信息，了解血浆与 药物浓度和运动能力受损程度。

The mechanisms by which drugs affect human behavior are complex and not well understood. The ultimate effects of a drug will depend on the interaction between the drug dose, the person's physiological and psychological state, the particular environmental conditions, and the nature of the behavior or test being measured. One approach that we are pursuing is to vary the environmental conditions by manipulating the reinforcement (monetary) contingencies under which subjects perform various tasks. This can be thought of as manipulating a subject's motivation to perform. By also varying drug dose and using tests that measure different aspects of performance (e.g., psychomotor vs. cognitive), we can begin to explore the complex interactions underlying the effects of drugs on behavior. Another approach to investigating the mechanisms by which drugs influence behavior is to focus on performance impairment produced by psychoactive drugs. The performance-impairing effects of drugs of abuse produce a large toll on the nation each year in terms of traffic injuries and fatalities and lost productivity in the workplace. However, for most drugs, we lack basic knowledge about the behavioral mechanisms underlying their impairment of human performance. A series of studies is being conducted that will address such questions. A battery of physiological, behavioral, and performance measures designed to determine whether an individual is behaviorally impaired as the result of taking a drug has been tested with ethanol, marijuana, and cocaine. A future study will examine the effects of amphetamine, codeine, and alprazolam on this same test battery as well as a cognitive test of attention and memory. By also collecting blood samples during these studies, we will be able to gain valuable information concerning the relationship between plasma concentrations of drugs and degree of performance impairment.