This grant proposes five years of research to continue an ongoing investigation of sensation seeking status as a potential predictor of drug abuse in young adults. Prior epidemiological research has established a link between sensation-seeking (or novelty-seeking) behavior and drug abuse in humans. Research with rat models further suggests that novelty-seeking behavior is predictive of individual differences in dopamine function and in the reinforcing and other behavioral effects of drugs of abuse. Our ongoing studies have confirmed the predictive association between sensation-seeking status and individual differences in the behavioral effects of drugs with abuse liability in young adults. Reliable and substantial group differences on the sensation-seeking factor were insured as a result of the availability of the Lexington Longitudinal Database for recruitment of study participants. Currently, studies of the reinforcing, discriminative and other behavioral effects of d-amphetamine and diazepam are ongoing. We propose to continue these investigations and to extend this work to include other drugs with high abuse liability (marijuana, nicotine, alcohol, methylphenidate). In addition, the potential use of high sensation activities to modulate the behavioral effects of d-amphetamine will be investigated as a potential prevention intervention. Finally, since high- and low-sensation seekers have been shown to differ along a number of clinically important dimensions, we will begin investigations of the interrelationships among these dimensions by evaluating the extent to which predicts individual sensitivity to the behavioral effects of drugs with abuse liability. The wealth of data available in the Lexington Longitudinal Database (e.g., peer associations, school performance, prior drug use, family status, other intrapersonal factors) will also be available to examine individual differences in behavioral response to drugs with abuse liability, in addition to sensation seeking status. These studies will have important implications for understanding individual differences in risk for drug abuse, and may help to guide future prevention interventions.
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