PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS AND AVERSIVELY-MOTIVATED BEHAVIOR

研究药物对维持行为的作用的技术 通过负强化在目前是相当有限的 尽管分析药物效应具有临床重要性，但 是特定于由压力或恐惧引起的行为。这个 拟议的研究将详细阐述选定的 新的基线时间表上的精神活性药物涉及两个 同时程序化的大鼠负性强化类型。 新的基线包括标准的电击避免时间表 在一个控制杆上编程，在第二个控制杆上响应 产生避免超时的信号周期。 初步研究表明，基线是 对鸦片类药物(吗啡)的影响有不同的敏感性 以及抗焦虑药物(氯氮卓酮和酒精)。建议数 研究将允许确定在多大程度上 之前观察到的药物效果取决于时间表 维持行为、服药前的反应率或 维护行为的事件类型。更多的研究将 将分析扩展到包括兴奋剂在内的其他药物 (苯丙胺)、抗精神病药物(氯丙嗪)、 麻醉药(戊巴比妥)和影响GABA的药物- 苯二氮卓类受体复合体(CGS 9896，FG 7142，RO15- 1788)以及其他代理商。这些项目的长期目标是 学习是为了增加我们对 负强化过程的神经药理学基础。 除了拟议的研究对 涉及受体活性和受体活性之间联系的理论 厌恶动机行为，这些研究将阐述一种新的 和高度敏感的基准，可用作分析 新的药物效应。

Techniques to study the actions of drugs on behavior maintained by negative reinforcement are quite limited at the present time despite the clinical importance of analyzing drug effects which are specific to behavior motivated by stress or fear. The proposed research will elaborate the effects of selected psychoactive drugs on a new baseline schedule involving two concurrently programmed types of negative reinforcement in rats. The new baseline involves a standard shock avoidance schedule programmed on one lever with responses on a second lever producing signaled periods of timeout from avoidance. Preliminary studies have indicated that the baseline is differentially sensitive to the effects of opiate drugs (morphine) and anxiolytic drugs (chlordiazepoxide and alcohol). The proposed studies will permit determination of the extent to which the previously observed drug effects are dependent upon the schedule maintaining the behavior, the pre-drug rate of responding, or the type of event maintaining the behavior. Additional studies will extend the analysis to other drugs including stimulants (amphetamine), antipsychotic agents (chlorpromazine), anesthetics (pentobarbital), and drugs influencing the GABA- benzodiazepine receptor complex (CGS 9896, FG 7142, Ro 15- 1788) as well as other agents. The long term goals of these studies are to increase our knowledge of the neuropharmacological basis of negative reinforcement processes. In addition to the significance of the proposed research for theories involving the links between receptor activity and aversively-motivated behavior, these studies will elaborate a new and highly sensitive baseline for use as a tool in the analysis of new drug effects.