This competing continuation of K05DA17918 is submitted in response to PA-09-076 and requests 5 additional years of support to provide protected time for the PI to continue a successful preclinical research program on the behavioral pharmacology of opioids and other drugs and to mentor students and other young investigators in the area of drug abuse. Progress on the original aims of this grant was as follows: 1) increased NIH support for the PI, his mentees, and collaborators;2) made significant progress in research projects on the behavioral pharmacology of opioids and other drugs of abuse;3) significantly increased drug abuse research and training activities at UTHSCSA;4) led the effort to expand and renovate animal facilities for behavioral research on drug abuse;and 5) contributed to the successful career development of student and junior faculty mentees. The current grant comprises 5 specific aims.
Aim 1 continues a 23-year research program on opioid dependence and withdrawal with a new focus on drug combinations.
Aim 2 builds on compelling new data showing that chronic opioid treatment and its discontinuation dramatically alter delay discounting, an often used measure of an important aspect of impulsivity, delay discounting.
Aim 3 continues and expands a successful collaboration with several investigators and explores the effects of food restriction and of eating high fat food on behavioral, neurochemical, and other effects of drugs acting on serotonin and dopamine systems.
Aim 4 continues an active mentoring program (>25% effort) of students and young investigators, and Aim 5 promotes further growth in drug abuse research and training activities at UTHSCSA, including preparation of T32 and multi-investigator research applications. Prior support under the K mechanism has allowed the PI to continue and expand his research efforts as well as the research programs of his collaborators. Continued support under this K award will allow the PI to devote at least 75% of his effort to research and mentoring in drug abuse.

Public Health Relevance

Despite the importance of opioids for treating pain, they are not effective in many patients, and their clinical use is limited by concerns about abuse and dependence;while impulsivity and drug abuse often covary, it is not clear whether impulsivity is a risk or cause of drug abuse and little is known about how drug use, especially chronic drug use, impacts impulsivity. Food and drugs can affect the same reward mechanism in brain, although the impact of feeding conditions on drug effects is poorly understood. Research conducted under this Senior Scientist Award examines three different drug abuse related questions: 1) can drugs of abuse that are used to treat pain be taken together without increasing their abuse;2) can drugs of abuse increase impulsivity when they are taken or when they are no longer taken;and 3) can drugs of abuse have effects that depend on how much and what you eat?

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Type
Research Scientist Award (K05)
Project #
2K05DA017918-06
Application #
8053700
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZDA1-EXL-T (14))
Program Officer
Wetherington, Cora Lee
Project Start
2004-02-01
Project End
2015-08-31
Budget Start
2010-09-30
Budget End
2011-08-31
Support Year
6
Fiscal Year
2010
Total Cost
$126,360
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio
Department
Pharmacology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
800772162
City
San Antonio
State
TX
Country
United States
Zip Code
78229
Minervini, Vanessa; France, Charles P (2018) Effects of morphine/CP55940 mixtures on an impulsive choice task in rhesus monkeys. Behav Pharmacol 29:60-70
Collins, Gregory T; France, Charles P (2018) Effects of lorcaserin and buspirone, administered alone and as a mixture, on cocaine self-administration in male and female rhesus monkeys. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol 26:488-496
Maguire, David R; France, Charles P (2018) Antinociceptive effects of mixtures of mu opioid receptor agonists and cannabinoid receptor agonists in rats: Impact of drug and fixed-dose ratio. Eur J Pharmacol 819:217-224
Minervini, Vanessa; Lu, Hannah Y; Padarti, Jahnavi et al. (2018) Interactions between kappa and mu opioid receptor agonists: effects of the ratio of drugs in mixtures. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 235:2245-2256
Collins, Gregory T; Gerak, Lisa R; France, Charles P (2018) The behavioral pharmacology and therapeutic potential of lorcaserin for substance use disorders. Neuropharmacology 142:63-71
Minervini, Vanessa; Dahal, Sujata; France, Charles P (2017) Behavioral Characterization of ? Opioid Receptor Agonist Spiradoline and Cannabinoid Receptor Agonist CP55940 Mixtures in Rats. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 360:280-287
Collins, Gregory T; Abbott, Megan; Galindo, Kayla et al. (2016) Discriminative Stimulus Effects of Binary Drug Mixtures: Studies with Cocaine, MDPV, and Caffeine. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 359:1-10
Maguire, David R; Gerak, Lisa R; France, Charles P (2016) Effect of daily morphine administration and its discontinuation on delay discounting of food in rhesus monkeys. Behav Pharmacol 27:155-64
Gerak, L R; France, C P (2016) Combined Treatment with Morphine and ?9-Tetrahydrocannabinol in Rhesus Monkeys: Antinociceptive Tolerance and Withdrawal. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 357:357-66
Collins, Gregory T; Gerak, Lisa R; Javors, Martin A et al. (2016) Lorcaserin Reduces the Discriminative Stimulus and Reinforcing Effects of Cocaine in Rhesus Monkeys. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 356:85-95

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