Abstract
Cocaine self-administration provides a methodology allowing researchers to study changes in distinct aspects of drug-taking behavior that model behaviors observed in drug addicts. Traditionally, self-administration schedules were designed to independently study changes in drug-taking behaviors (e.g., rate of responding, reinforcing efficacy, etc.). The threshold self-administration procedure was developed to measure two distinct dependent measures within the same experimental session that are important in the study of drug addiction: the maximal price an animal expends to self-administer cocaine and an animal’s preferred level of cocaine consumption when available at a low behavioral cost.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Zittel-Lazarini, A., Cador, M. and Ahmed, S.H. (2007) A critical transition in cocaine self-administration: behavioral and neurobiological implications. Psychopharmacology (Berl), 192, 337–346.
Pickens, R. and Thompson, T. (1968) Cocaine-reinforced behavior in rats: effects of reinforcement magnitude and fixed-ratio size. J.Pharmacol.Exp.Ther., 161, 122–129.
Yokel, R.A. and Piekens, R. (1974) Drug level of d- and l-amphetamine during intravenous self-administration. Psychopharmacologia., 34, 255–264.
Wilson, M.C., Hitomi, M. and Schuster, C.R. (1971) Psychomotor stimulant self administration as a function of dosage per injection in the rhesus monkey. Psychopharmacologia., 22, 271–281.
Oleson E.B. and Roberts, D.C.S. (2009) Behavioral economic assessment of price and cocaine consumption following self-administration histories that produce escalation of either final ratios or intake. Neuropsychopharmacology 34, 796–804.
Espana, R.A., Oleson, E.B., Locke, J.L., Brookshire, B.R., Roberts, D.C. and Jones, S.R. (2010) The hypocretin-orexin system regulates cocaine self-administration via actions on the mesolimbic dopamine system. Eur J Neurosci, 31, 336–348.
Morgan, D., Liu, Y. and Roberts, D.C. (2006) Rapid and persistent sensitization to the reinforcing effects of cocaine. Neuropsychopharmacology, 31, 121–128.
Hursh, S.R. (1991) Behavioral economics of drug self-administration and drug abuse policy. J.Exp.Anal.Behav., 56, 377–393.
Hursh, S.R., Galuska, C.M., Winger, G. and Woods, J.H. (2005) The economics of drug abuse: a quantitative assessment of drug demand. Mol.Interv., 5, 20–28.
Hursh, S.R. and Silberberg, A. (2008) Economic demand and essential value. Psychol.Rev., 115, 186–198.
Bickel, W.K., DeGrandpre, R.J., Higgins, S.T. and Hughes, J.R. (1990) Behavioral economics of drug self-administration. I. Functional equivalence of response requirement and drug dose. Life Sci., 47, 1501–1510.
Bickel, W.K., DeGrandpre, R.J. and Higgins, S.T. (1993) Behavioral economics: a novel experimental approach to the study of drug dependence. Drug Alcohol Depend., 33, 173–192.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this protocol
Cite this protocol
Oleson, E.B., Roberts, D.C.S. (2012). Cocaine Self-Administration in Rats: Threshold Procedures. In: Kobeissy, F. (eds) Psychiatric Disorders. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 829. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-458-2_20
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-458-2_20
Published:
Publisher Name: Humana Press
Print ISBN: 978-1-61779-457-5
Online ISBN: 978-1-61779-458-2
eBook Packages: Springer Protocols