Lasting Effects of Cocaine on Cognition and Motivation

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Research in drug addicts shows that cocaine use is associated with alterations in cognition and motivation. Cognitive alterations associated with drug addiction include impairments in decision-making and choosing appropriate responses based on the value of likely outcomes. Motivational alterations include enhancements in the control over behavior by rewards and cues predictive of reward. Animal research has begun to establish causal links between cocaine exposure and such alterations, and it has been proposed that alterations in cognition and motivation resulting from drug exposure may act synergistically to promote drug addiction. However, the relationship between cocaine's effects on these two functions is unclear. This proposal is designed to investigate the relationship between cocaine's impairing effects on responding based on the value of likely outcomes and its enhancing effects on control of behavior by reward-related cues. Specifically, rats given various cocaine exposure conditions will be tested on a behavioral task that assesses both of these functions. The results of this experiment will determine a) whether both impaired responding based on outcome value and enhanced behavioral control by reward-related cues are observed across a wide range of cocaine exposure conditions, and b) whether cocaine's effects on these functions are correlated. These findings will be used to guide future research investigating the neural systems underlying interactions between cognitive and motivational consequences of cocaine exposure.