Recent theories of the etiology of alcoholism suggest that craving and relapse are linked to a Pavlovian process whereby the drinker learns to associate environmental cues with alcohol's effects. If the individual returns to an environment where alcohol is expected but not given, he may experience an adverse conditioned physiological reaction similar to withdrawal which prompts renewed drinking. Pavlovian conditioned responses have also recently been shown to be involved in the growth of tolerance to some effects of alcohol. No study, however, has yet shown a direct link between conditioned drug responses and self-administration. Using an animal (rat) model for oral self-administration of alcohol, we propose several studies to examine the role of Pavlovian conditioning in self-administration. Initially, we will determine whether the environment associated with self-administration of alcohol becomes capable of eliciting a Pavlovian thermal conditioned response and, if so, whether that response contributes to the development of tolerance to alcohol's thermal effect. Then we will assess the effect of an explicit Pavlovian CS for alcohol (i.e., a stimulus previously paired with alcohol injection) on rate of responding in the self-administration paradigm. Finally, we will also determine the subject's preference/aversion for that stimulus using a locomotor choice procedure. The results of these studies will permit us to evaluate suggestions that Pavlovian conditioned responses play a critical role in the development, maintenance and relapse of alcohol self-administration and in the development of drug tolerance. The long-term objective of this research is to increase our understanding of the biobehavioral processes that contribute to the etiology of alcohol abuse and dependence. This understanding should help us to recognize increased risk of alcohol abuse, to devise more efficient and effective treatments for alcoholism and to outline more effective prevention strategies.
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