Conditioned alcohol cues produce craving and may contribute to relapse. These effects of alcohol cues may be related to their functioning as: 1) conditioned reinforcers [they maintain behavior that produces contact with them], and 2) motivators of drinking [contacting them makes drinking more likely]. The endogenous opioid system mediates the reinforcing effects of alcohol and is related to genetic susceptibilities to alcoholism. Little research has focused on the role of the opioid system in the conditioned reinforcing and motivating effects of alcohol cues. We recently developed a procedure (the observing-response procedure) that avoids many problems with other animal models of the conditioned reinforcing effects of alcohol cues, but have not yet examined the motivational impact of the alcohol cues on drinking. The utility of this procedure for examining the neuropharmacological mechanisms of alcohol cues is also unknown. This research has three specific aims. First, we aim to examine the motivating effects of the alcohol cues in the this procedure by examining their impact on the sensitivity of alcohol drinking to increases in the cost of alcohol. In Exp.1 rats will self-administer alcohol across increasing costs (work per unit alcohol) and sensitivity to price will be examined when alcohol cues are available or unavailable.
Our second aim i s to examine how opioid antagonism affects sensitivity of drinking and responding for alcohol cues to increases in the cost of alcohol. Exp. 2 examines the effects of naltrexone on drinking and responding for alcohol cues in the observing-response procedure.
The third aim i s to determine if the effects of naltrexone interact with availability of conditioned alcohol cues. Exp. 3 examines this interaction with a subset of prices and naltrexone doses determined in Exp.1 and Exp. 2. This experiment will determine if any decreases in alcohol consumption produced by opioid antagonism are affected by the motivating effects of alcohol cues. The further development and evaluation of these methods is important for the continued growth of our understanding of alcohol cues and their role in craving and relapse. By using the observing-response procedure we may be better able to decrease their impact on people being treated for alcoholism. Future studies could examine the role of specific opioid receptor subtypes or other receptor systems in the effects of alcohol cues and their relationship to genetic susceptibility to alcoholism.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
Type
Exploratory/Developmental Grants (R21)
Project #
5R21AA013576-03
Application #
6730481
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZAA1-DD (20))
Program Officer
Egli, Mark
Project Start
2003-04-01
Project End
2006-03-31
Budget Start
2004-04-01
Budget End
2005-03-31
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2004
Total Cost
$140,000
Indirect Cost
Name
Utah State University
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Education
DUNS #
072983455
City
Logan
State
UT
Country
United States
Zip Code
84322
Jimenez-Gomez, Corina; Shahan, Timothy A (2007) Resistance to change of alcohol self-administration: effects of alcohol-delivery rate on disruption by extinction and naltrexone. Behav Pharmacol 18:161-9
Shahan, Timothy A; Jimenez-Gomez, Corina (2006) Effects of self-administered alcohol concentration on the frequency and persistence of rats' attending to alcohol cues. Behav Pharmacol 17:201-11
Podlesnik, Christopher A; Jimenez-Gomez, Corina; Shahan, Timothy A (2006) Resurgence of alcohol seeking produced by discontinuing non-drug reinforcement as an animal model of drug relapse. Behav Pharmacol 17:369-74
Shahan, Timothy A; Podlesnik, Christopher A (2005) Rate of conditioned reinforcement affects observing rate but not resistance to change. J Exp Anal Behav 84:1-17
Shahan, T A; Burke, K A (2004) Ethanol-maintained responding of rats is more resistant to change in a context with added non-drug reinforcement. Behav Pharmacol 15:279-85
Shahan, Timothy A; Magee, Adam; Dobberstein, Andria (2003) The resistance to change of observing. J Exp Anal Behav 80:273-93