Experimental Manipulations of Impulsivity: Effects on Gambling and Drug Taking

说明(申请人提供)：延迟贴现描述因延迟而导致的后果(收益和损失)的贬值。大量文献表明，大幅延迟折扣(即延迟结果的极端贬值)与病理性赌博和药物滥用等成瘾障碍相关。尚待调查的是，在实验中产生的延迟折扣变化是否会影响随后的赌博和吸毒。如果减少延迟结果的折扣程度减少随后的成瘾活动，那么基于折扣的治疗和预防成瘾的新技术可能会被有益地追求。在这个新的调查者RO1中，我们将在实验中操纵大鼠的延迟折扣。在每个实验中，这将通过让一组实验鼠接受延长持续时间的训练方案来实现，该方案旨在降低这些大鼠对延迟食物奖励的折扣程度。对照组的大鼠将完成相同的疗程，但不会接受旨在减少折扣的训练。每一种训练方案，当被正确地实施时，都显著地影响了延迟折扣，但人们对这些方案的持久影响知之甚少，也不知道它们是否有能力影响随后的成瘾相关行为。因此，在评估了每种训练方案对延迟折扣的影响后，我们将比较试验组和对照组大鼠对赌博类奖励(与可预测的食物来源)和酒精自我给药的偏好程度。如果实验导致延迟折扣的减少也减少了与成瘾相关的行为，那么这个项目将对与国家药物滥用研究所的使命相关的基础和应用研究具有重要意义。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Delay discounting describes the devaluation of consequences (gains and losses) because they are delayed. A large literature indicates that steep delay discounting (i.e., extreme devaluation of delayed outcomes) is correlated with addictive disorders such as pathological gambling and substance abuse. What has yet to be investigated is if experimentally produced changes in delay discounting can affect subsequent gambling and drug taking. If decreasing the degree to which delayed outcomes are discounted decreases subsequent addictive activities, then new discounting-based techniques for the treatment and prevention of addictions might gainfully be pursued. In this New Investigator RO1, we will experimentally manipulate delay discounting in rats. In each experiment this will be accomplished by exposing an experimental group of rats to an extended-duration training regimen designed to decrease the degree to which these rats discount delayed food rewards. A control group of rats will complete the same number of sessions but will not receive the training designed to decrease discounting. Each of the training regimens, when acutely administered, has significantly affected delay discounting, but little is known about the lasting effects of these regimens and nothing is known about their ability to affect subsequent addiction-related behavior. Thus, after the effects of each training regimen on delay discounting are assessed, we will compare experimental and control rats on how strongly they prefer gambling-like rewards (vs. predictable sources of food) and ethanol self administration. If experimentally induced decreases in delay discounting also decrease addiction-related behavior, then this project will have important implications for basic and applied research of relevance to the mission of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.