This application proposes a core integral to the INIA-West Consortium tasked to identify target medications to treat alcoholism. Agents will be identified based on information obtained from projects within INIA-West. The agents will be examined to determine if they alter behaviors reflective of the various aspects of alcoholism including binge-intoxication, negative affect, and preoccupation-anticipation in a systematic manner using established behavioral methods with rats. Tests are conducted in an orderly manner with clearly defined decision points for continuation or cessation of studies with an agent. An agent's ability to alter behaviors indicative of binge-intoxication is examined using maintenance of operant self-administration of alcohol under progressive ratio schedules and promising results followed by place conditioning and 2-bottle preference procedures. Alleviation of negative affect is assessed by measuring withdrawal signs and anxiety- and depressive-like behaviors with elevated plus maze and forced swim tests. Preoccupation-anticipation (craving) is assessed with drug/cue-induced reinstatement of extinguished operant responding, conditioned approach, and sign-tracking. This set of craving studies is a focal point of the grant given the importance of relapse prevention in alcoholism treatment and a reason rats are used as these procedures are more difficult to establish with mice. Further, because excessive alcohol can cause cognitive deficits that would likely interfere with psychological treatments (which are often combined with pharmacological treatments), we will also assess whether target agents alter cognitive function using standard learning and memory tasks (e.g., fear conditioning, object recognition, delayed alternation). Studies will be conducted in rats that have been chronically exposed to alcohol vapors. This project interacts closely with the Roberts and Bell projects to confirm or extend findings allowing greater confidence in results obtained. Finally, in collaboration with other projects and cores and using molecular genetic and neuropharmacological approaches, we will confirm the neurobiological effects of the target agents to alter chronic alcohol effects.
The goal of this research program is to establish a behavioral testing core for the INIA-West Consortium aimed at testing potential pharmacotherapeutic agents for alcoholism. The main focus of this core is to conduct tests reflective of 'craving' although other aspects of alcoholism (intoxication, negative affect) will be addressed and results compared to those of the Bell and Roberts cores.
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