Prescription opioid non-medical use and abuse are a significant public health problem in this country. Epidemiological databases indicate that the problem has increased substantially since the late 1990s and currently shows no signs of abating. In our laboratory, we have studied abuse liability-related subjective effects of several oral opioids that are widely prescribed using an abuse liability testing methodology. Abuse liability-related subjective effects are effects that are considered pleasant in nature (e.g., euphoria, drug liking, feeling good) and have face validity in predicting abuse liability. Our volunteers are recreational drug users not meeting diagnostic criteria for drug abuse, a group that represents a large proportion of the general population. There appear to be differences between the prescription opioids we have tested in degree of abuse liability-related subjective effects, but rigorous, direct comparisons of these opioids within the same study and within the same individual have not been done. In the first series of studies proposed in this application, we will examine the relative abuse liability-related effects (testing both subjective and reinforcing effects) of prescription oral opioids by studying different doses of different opioids within the same study and within the same individual (Study 1: oxycodone versus hydrocodone; Study 2: oxycodone versus morphine). The second series of studies will identify potential risk factors for prescription opioid abuse. In our previous studies on prescription opioids, we have observed individual differences in the degree to which volunteers show abuse liability-related effects of an opioid. The fact that individual differences can be observed in our studies suggests that determinants of those differences can be studied in the laboratory, so that those variables that might lead to greater abuse liability-related effects of opioids can be identified. If a potential risk factor increases the abuse liability-related effects of a prescription opioid, it is likely that the risk factor contributes to the non-medical use and/or abuse of prescription opioids. The potential risk factors to be studied include organismic variables (anxiety disorder, sensation seeking), drug usage variables (light versus moderate ethanol usage) and pharmacological variables (ethanol). The studies in this application will continue to fill critical gaps in our knowledge base on the behavioral effects of prescription opioids, including relative abuse liability of different opioids, and potential risk factors that modulate the abuse liability-related effects of these drugs.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01DA008573-12
Application #
7252110
Study Section
Biobehavioral Regulation, Learning and Ethology Study Section (BRLE)
Program Officer
Schnur, Paul
Project Start
1995-03-15
Project End
2010-06-30
Budget Start
2007-07-01
Budget End
2008-06-30
Support Year
12
Fiscal Year
2007
Total Cost
$319,286
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Chicago
Department
Anesthesiology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
005421136
City
Chicago
State
IL
Country
United States
Zip Code
60637
Zacny, James P; Apfelbaum, Sean M; Perkins, Kenneth A (2013) Modulating roles of smoking status and sex on oxycodone-induced nausea and drug liking. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol 21:103-11
Zacny, James P; Gutierrez, Sandra; Kirulus, Karin et al. (2011) Psychopharmacological effects of oxycodone in volunteers with and without generalized anxiety disorder. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol 19:85-94
Zacny, James P; Gutierrez, Sandra (2011) Subjective, psychomotor, and physiological effects of oxycodone alone and in combination with ethanol in healthy volunteers. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 218:471-81
Zacny, James P; Drum, Melinda (2010) Psychopharmacological effects of oxycodone in healthy volunteers: roles of alcohol-drinking status and sex. Drug Alcohol Depend 107:209-14
Zacny, James P (2010) A possible link between sensation-seeking status and positive subjective effects of oxycodone in healthy volunteers. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 95:113-20
Zacny, James P; de Wit, Harriet (2009) The prescription opioid, oxycodone, does not alter behavioral measures of impulsivity in healthy volunteers. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 94:108-13
Zacny, James P; Gutierrez, Sandra (2009) Within-subject comparison of the psychopharmacological profiles of oral hydrocodone and oxycodone combination products in non-drug-abusing volunteers. Drug Alcohol Depend 101:107-14
Zacny, James P; Gutierrez, Sandra (2008) Subjective, psychomotor, and physiological effects profile of hydrocodone/acetaminophen and oxycodone/acetaminophen combination products. Pain Med 9:433-43
Zacny, James P; Lichtor, Stephanie A (2008) Reply to the commentaries. J Pain 9:494-6
Zacny, James P; Lichtor, Stephanie A (2008) Within-subject comparison of the psychopharmacological profiles of oral oxycodone and oral morphine in non-drug-abusing volunteers. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 196:105-16

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