Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Lever-press duration as a measure of frustration in sucrose and drug reinforcement

  • Original Investigation
  • Published:
Psychopharmacology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

This article has been updated

Abstract

Rationale

Currently there is little research into the role of frustration in substance use disorders despite research showing that frustration tolerance in humans is associated with a lower likelihood of developing substance use problems, better outcomes in recovery, and fewer relapses.

Objective

In order to address this need, our studies use a rat model to focus on frustration-related behavior in natural reward and addiction-related behavioral procedures. Frustration is defined as when a subject is unable to achieve a reinforcer, receives less of a reinforcer than anticipated, or has to work harder to achieve a reinforcer.

Results

In these studies, bar-press durations increase when rats are in a state of frustration during self-administration of sucrose, fentanyl, or cocaine.

Conclusions

These data also show that average bar-press durations do not correlate with the number of bar presses, meaning that press duration is an independent measurement that represents a behavioral construct distinct from craving, which is typically measured with number of bar presses. Essentially, these results support that bar press durations can be used as a real-time measure of frustration as a 4th major facet of addiction-related behavior, adding to craving, impulsivity, and habit.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

Change history

  • 22 February 2021

    This article was updated due to omitted suppelemenatry materials.

References

  • Adelman HM, Maatsch JL (1955) Resistance to extinction as a function of the type of response elicited by frustration. J Exp Psychol 50(1):61–65

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Amsel A, Roussel J (1952) Motivational properties of frustration. I Effect on a running response of the addition of frustration to the motivational complex. J Exp Psycol 43(5):363–366

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Baars MY, Muller MJ, Gallhofer B, Netter P (2013) Relapse (number of detoxifications) in abstinent male alcohol-dependent patients as related to personality traits and types of tolerance to frustration. Neuropsychobiology 67(4):241–248

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Capaldi EJ (1967) A sequential hypothesis of instrumental learning. In: The Psychology of Learning and Motivation 1. Academic, New York, pp 67–156

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Capaldi EJ (1974) Partial reward either following or preceding consistent reward: a case of reinforcement level. J Exp Psychol 102(6):954–962

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Capaldi EJ, Miller DJ (1988) Counting in rats: its functional significance and the independent cognitive processes which comprise it. J Exp Psychol Anim Behav Process 14(1):3–17

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crofton EJ, Nenov MN, Zhang Y, Scala F, Page SA, McCue DL et al (2017) Glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta alters anxiety-, depression-, and addiction-related behaviors and neuronal activity in the nucleus accumbens shell. Neuropharmacology 117:49–60

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ginsburg BC, Lamb RJ (2018) Frustration stress (unexpected loss of alternative reinforcement) increases opioid self-administration in a model of recovery. Drug Alcohol Depend 182:33–39

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Podlesnik CA, Jimenez-Gomez C, Shahan TA (2006) Resurgence of alcohol seeking produced by discontinuing non-drug reinforcement as an animal model of drug relapse. Behav Pharmacol 17(4):369–374

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pyszczynski AD, Shahan TA (2013) Loss of nondrug reinforcement in one context produces alcohol seeking in another context. Behav Pharmacol 24(5–6):496–503

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Quick SL, Pyszczynski AD, Colston KA, Shahan TA (2011) Loss of alternative non-drug reinforcement induces relapse of cocaine-seeking in rats: role of dopamine D(1) receptors. Neuropsychopharmacology 36(5):1015–1020

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ramirez-Castillo D, Garcia-Roda C, Guell F, Fernandez-Montalvo J, Bernacer J, Moron I (2019) Frustration tolerance and personality traits in patients with substance use disorders. Front Psychiatry 10:421

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vowles KE, McEntee ML, Julnes PS, Frohe T, Ney JP, van der Goes DN (2015) Rates of opioid misuse, abuse, and addiction in chronic pain: a systematic review and data synthesis. Pain 156(4):569–576

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang Y, Kong F, Crofton EJ, Dragosljvich SN, Sinha M, Li D et al (2016) Transcriptomics of environmental enrichment reveals a role for retinoic acid signaling in addiction. Front Mol Neurosci 9:119

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The funding sources were not involved in study design, interpretation of data, writing of the report, or the decision to submit the article for publication.

Funding

This research has been funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse grant DA047102 (TAG) and a pilot grant from the UTMB Center for Addiction Research.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, The University of Texas Medical Branch, 301 University Dr., Medical Research Bldg 7.102c, Galveston, TX, 777555, USA

    Tileena E. S. Vasquez, Shyny Koshy, Yorkiris Marmol-Contreras & Thomas A. Green

  2. Neuroscience Graduate Program, The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA

    Tileena E. S. Vasquez, Ryan J. McAuley, Nikita S. Gupta & Thomas A. Green

  3. Center for Addiction Research, The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA

    Tileena E. S. Vasquez, Shyny Koshy & Thomas A. Green

  4. Mental Health Research Group, The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA

    Tileena E. S. Vasquez, Shyny Koshy & Thomas A. Green

Authors
  1. Tileena E. S. Vasquez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ryan J. McAuley
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Nikita S. Gupta
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Shyny Koshy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Yorkiris Marmol-Contreras
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Thomas A. Green
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Thomas A. Green.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary Information

ESM 1

(XLSX 9 kb)

ESM 2

(JPEG 2.34 mb)

ESM 3

(JPEG 3.89 mb)

ESM 4

(JPEG 1.69 mb)

ESM 5

(JPEG 1.74 mb)

ESM 6

(JPEG 2.09 mb)

ESM 7

(JPEG 2.23 mb)

ESM 8

(JPEG 3.46 mb)

ESM 9

(JPEG 2.19 mb)

ESM 10

(JPEG 2.50 mb)

ESM 11

(JPEG 1.49 mb)

ESM 12

(JPEG 1.79 mb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Vasquez, T.E.S., McAuley, R.J., Gupta, N.S. et al. Lever-press duration as a measure of frustration in sucrose and drug reinforcement. Psychopharmacology 238, 959–968 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-020-05742-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-020-05742-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation