Behavioral Momentum of Alcohol Self-Administration

药物和酒精的持续寻觅是物质治疗中的一个关键问题。 虐待和依赖。毒品线索在当前的成瘾理论中占据突出地位，并 被认为对毒品的持续寻觅和复发起到了作用。因为吸毒是 操作行为、基于操作条件反射的药物自我给药动物模型 在研究生物和环境变量如何影响药物寻找方面很有用 以及故态复萌。持续性研究的方法论和理论发展 面对干扰时的操作行为可能会进一步洞察 药物维持的反应。行为动量理论提供了一套方法和一个 强化条件如何影响行为持续性的量化理论 刺激的存在。基于行为动量理论的预测，我们发现 在有刺激的情况下寻求酒精的持久性取决于所有 在刺激中提供增强剂(包括药物和非药物)，即使其中一些增强剂 干扰毒品寻觅。因此，可能有必要考虑以下所有来源 与药物线索相关的强化(即药物和非药物)，以了解 这暗示了人们对毒品的坚持不懈。方法的进一步扩展和量化 行为动量理论的理论框架可能会为 在有毒品线索的情况下坚持寻找毒品。此外，因为毒品线索 似乎在复发中发挥了作用，即将行为动量理论扩展到动物模型 可能提供关于强化的背景如何有助于复发的洞察 毒品线索的存在。这项拟议的研究旨在：1)进一步检查 替代非药物增强剂对酒精自我给药持久性的影响；2)检查 扩展行为提供的对变化的抵抗力的定量描述的效用 酒精自我给药的动力；以及3)将行为动力扩展到动物 旧病复发的模式。继续研究这些问题是很重要的，因为 吸毒和酗酒是吸毒和酗酒的主要特征之一。更好的 对药物线索如何影响药物寻找持续性的理解可能会带来新的启示 旨在减少暴露在此类线索中的影响的行为干预。这个项目对公众健康很重要，因为它将有助于了解 使药物和酒精滥用如此持久的因素。这个项目的发现可能会表明 旨在减少药物和酒精滥用耐受性的新型行为疗法 防止复发。

The persistence of drug and alcohol seeking is a critical issue in the treatment of substance abuse and dependence. Drug cues figure prominently in current theories of addiction and are thought to play a role in the persistence of drug seeking and relapse. Because drug taking is operant behavior, animal models of drug self-administration based on operant conditioning have been useful in examining how biological and environmental variables contribute to drug seeking and relapse. Methodological and theoretical developments in the study of the persistence of operant behavior in the face of disruption may provide further insights into to the persistence of drug-maintained responding. Behavioral momentum theory provides a set of methods and a quantitative theory of how reinforcement conditions affect the persistence of behavior in the presence of a stimulus. Based on a prediction of behavioral momentum theory, we have found that the persistence of alcohol seeking in the presence of a stimulus depends on all the reinforcers (both drug and non-drug) available in that stimulus, even if some of those reinforcers interfere with drug-seeking. Thus, it may be necessary to consider all of the sources of reinforcement (i.e., drug and non-drug) associated with a drug cue to understand the impact of that cue on the persistence of drug seeking. Further extensions of the methods and quantitative theoretical framework of behavioral momentum theory may provide important insights into the persistence of drug seeking in the presence of drug cues. In addition, because drug cues appear to play a role in relapse, extensions of behavioral momentum theory to an animal model of relapse may provide insights into how the context of reinforcement contributes to relapse in the presence of drug cues. The proposed research aims to: 1) Further examine the effects of alternative non-drug reinforcers on the persistence of alcohol self-administration; 2) Examine the utility of extending the quantitative account of resistance to change provided by behavioral momentum to alcohol self-administration; and 3) Extend behavioral momentum to an animal model of relapse. Continued examination of these issues is important because the persistence of drug seeking is one of the defining features of drug and alcohol abuse. A better understanding of how drug cues impact the persistence of drug seeking may suggest novel behavioral interventions targeted at reducing the impact of exposure to such cues. This project is important to public health because it will help provide an understanding of the factors that make drug and alcohol abuse so persistent. Findings from this project may suggest novel behavioral treatments targeted at reducing the persisence of drug and alcohol abuse and preventing relapse.