Individual differences in cocaine's locomotor activating effects predicts reward-directed behavior

Venheim, Emily R.

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/24033 Copy

Description

Title

Individual differences in cocaine's locomotor activating effects predicts reward-directed behavior

Author(s)

Venheim, Emily R.

Issue Date

2011-05-25T15:04:38Z

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Gulley, Joshua M.

Department of Study

Psychology

Discipline

Psychology

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

M.A.

Degree Level

Thesis

Keyword(s)

• cocaine
• individual differences
• addiction

Abstract

Humans exhibit marked individual differences in susceptibility to develop drug dependence. Addiction-like behaviors have been modeled in rodents as well with similar individual variability in the development of addiction-like behaviors. One potential mechanism that could differentiate addiction-vulnerable from addiction-resistant individuals is sensitivity to reward-paired cues. Pavlovian-instrumental transfer (PIT) is a paradigm that assesses the extent to which reward cues can initiate previously unpaired instrumental responding for a common reward. To examine the potential that sensitivity to reward-paired cues is a mechanism differentiating individuals with a propensity to develop addiction-like behaviors, we used a rodent model known to differ in initial responsiveness to cocaine as well as in behaviors implicated in ‘addiction-vulnerability’. We hypothesize that rodents displaying the ‘addiction-vulnerable’ phenotype will initiate instrumental responding to a greater degree when presented with cues associated with reward than their counterparts.

Graduation Semester

2011-05

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/24033

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2011 Emily R. Venheim

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