PSYCHOMOTOR STIMULANTS AND AGGRESSION

拟议研究的总体目标是了解 精神运动兴奋剂的行为效应是由一种 个人过去在特定社会和攻击性方面的经历 行为。我们建议调查过去在多大程度上与 攻击性、顺从、性行为或母性行为调节神经 对后续行为影响至关重要的进程 精神运动兴奋剂。或者，我们将研究如何 药理经验，特别是阿片类激动剂，调节 作为精神运动效应靶点的神经过程 兴奋剂。戒除持续接触鸦片类药物将是一个重点 因为它与更强的攻击性和 对作用于脑儿茶酚胺的药物过敏。在.之后 已经建立了特定的行为或药物史， 最初的策略将依赖于从药理学上挑战个人 在一系列行为任务中。“行为分析”包括 反身性反应的测量以及复杂的社交和攻击性 行为和进度控制行为。当从 药理学研究我们将分析特定的大脑区域 儿茶酚胺和阿片肽的定位是为了了解 与行为药物相关的直接神经化学变化 效果。 拟议工作的另一个目标涉及详细的量化 毒品对复杂的社会行为和攻击行为的作用分析。通过 使用计算机化的记录技术，每一刻的细节 准确测量药物改变的行为。这条消息保证 为了更准确地描述脑出血的神经生物学机制 精神运动刺激对攻击性的影响。

The overall objective of the proposed research is to learn how the behavioral effects of psychomotor stimulants are determined by an individual's past experiences with specific social and aggressive behavior. We propose to investigate to what extent past experiences with aggressive, submissive, sexual or maternal behavior modulate neural processes that are critical for subsequent behavioral effects of psychomotor stimulants. Alternatively, we will be studying how pharmacological experiences, particularly with opiate agonists, modulate the neural processes that are the targets for the effects of psychomotor stimulants. Withdrawal from continuous exposure to opiates will be a focus of our studies since it is associated with heightened aggression and with hypersensitivity to drugs that act on brain catecholamines. After a specific behavioral or pharmacological history has been established, the initial strategy will rely on challenging an individual pharmacologically during a range of behavioral tasks. The "behavioral assays" include measures of reflexive responses as well as complex social and aggressive behaviors, and schedule-controlled behavior. When indicated from the pharmacological studies we will assay specific brain regions in which catecholamines and opioid peptides are localized in order to learn about direct neurochemical changes that are associated with behavioral drug effects. A further aim of the proposed work concerns the detailed quantitative analysis of drug action on complex social and aggressive behavior. By using computerized recording techniques, the moment-to-moment details of drug-altered behavior are accurately measured. This information promises to more precisely delineate the mediating neurobiological mechanisms for psychomotor stimulant effects on aggression.