Comprehensive Database of Drug Discrimination and Self-Administration Research This project will support the establishment of a web site through which an exhaustive bibliographic list of all laboratory studies of drug discrimination and self-administration will be accessible. It will include the existing database of drug discrimination that the Principal Investigator maintains and will extend coverage to drug self-administration research. Self-administration has been described as the """"""""gold-standard"""""""" among animal models for studies on the brain mechanisms and neurobiological basis of drug dependence. The two techniques are among the most widely used methodologies in research into abuse of both licit and illicit abused substances. The findings add to knowledge of the effects, modes of action and abuse liability of drugs, and are used in the search for more effective treatments, but there are major limitations in the ability to retrieve the publications comprehensively and exclusively from standard biomedical databases. The detailed indexing (keyword) system will be a unique feature that will overcome these problems and will facilitate searches for studies relating to key scientific concepts. The database will help prevent unnecessary use of human subjects and experimental animals, and will help save investigator time and research funds. The database will be updated frequently and access to it will be open and unrestricted. Users will access the database web site to carry out on-line searches, to download the entire database, or to download comprehensive pre-formatted bibliographies in a variety of formats for different software and computer systems. There will be no other way to gain access to this literature that will be as comprehensive or that will allow an equal degree of precision for selective searching. Relevance to Public Health Drug abuse is a major public health problem producing immense harm to society and individuals and places an enormous burden on healthcare systems. The project will provide a valuable service to the research community that will increase the cost-effectiveness of studies into the prevention and treatment of drug abuse and into the mechanisms by which abused licit and illicit substances affect brain function.
| Meisch, Richard A; Gomez, Thomas H (2013) Drug self-administration studies: a novel reinforcement schedule enhances choice. Behav Pharmacol 24:155-63 |
| Stolerman, Ian P; Childs, Emma; Ford, Matthew M et al. (2011) Role of training dose in drug discrimination: a review. Behav Pharmacol 22:415-29 |
| Stolerman, I P; Rasul, F; Shine, P J (1989) Trends in drug discrimination research analysed with a cross-indexed bibliography, 1984-1987. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 98:1-19 |
