Neural Mechanisms of Addiction is the only book available that synthesizes the latest research in the field into a single, accessible resource covering all aspects of how addiction develops and persists in the brain. The book summarizes our most recent understanding on the neural mechanisms underlying addiction. It also examines numerous biobehavioral aspects of addiction disorders, such as reinforcement learning, reward, cognitive dysfunction, stress, and sleep and circadian rhythms that are not covered in any other publication. Readers with find the most up-to-date information on which to build a foundation for their future research in this expanding field. Combining chapters from leading researchers and thought leaders, this book is an indispensable guide for students and investigators engaged in addiction research. - Transcends multiple neural, neurochemical and behavioral domains - Summarizes advances in the field of addiction research since the advent of optogenetics - Discusses the most current, leading theories of addiction, including molecular mechanisms and dopamine mechanisms

Our understanding of addiction and how it is treated has advanced remarkably over the past decades, and much of the progress is related directly to animal research. This is true for both the behavioural aspects of drug use as well as the biological underpinnings of the disorder. In Animal Models of Drug Addiction, experts in the field provide an up-to-date review of complex behavioural paradigms that model different stages of this disorder and explain how each test is used to effectively replicate the progression of drug addiction. This detailed and practical book begins with the most common laboratory measures of addiction in animals, including intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS), drug self-administration, place conditioning, and sensitization. Later chapters describe how these paradigms are used to model the progression of drug addiction, providing insight into the clinical symptomatology of addiction from acquisition of drug use through compulsive drug taking to withdrawal and relapse. Written for the popular Neuromethods series, the contributions offer both methodological detail and a theoretical perspective, appealing to readers familiar with preclinical research on drug addiction as well as those who are newcomers to the field. Cutting-edge and authoritative, Animal Models of Drug Addiction will serve as a basis for future vital research that links the bench to the bedside in the crucial treatment of drug addiction.

Animal Models for Medications Screening to Treat Addiction, the latest volume in the International Review of Neurobiology series, provides a comprehensive overview of the state-of-the-art research on the topic. It reviews the current knowledge and understanding in the field, presenting a starting point for researchers and practitioners entering the field. - Brings together information on the current state of medication development for drug addiction using animal models - Contains comprehensive descriptions of various models associated with many forms of drug addiction - Adds new information for translational research in the field of drug addiction

Animal Models for Examining Social Influences on Drug Addiction, Volume 140 in the International Review of Neurobiology series, provides insights on social factors that mediate drug addiction. This book discusses current research and projects, with specific chapters focusing on Social Influences on Nicotine-related Behaviors in Rodents, Models of Alcohol Intake in Social Contexts, Social Factors in Ethanol Sensitization, Social Modulation of Heroin Intake, Amphetamines and Social Aspects of Addiction, Amphetamines and Social Aspects of Addiction, Social Models of Cannabis Use, Oxytocin and Rodent Models of Addiction, Social Place Preference and Reward, Social Defeat Stress, and more. Covers the often neglected topic of social factors that mediate drug addiction and its consequences Presents research studies using animal models of addiction that are often ignored Aims to highlight the importance of using paradigms that incorporate social aspects into preclinical addiction studies

Preclinical animal research has contributed greatly to our understanding of numerous human disease states and will continue to provide a method for investigating the various biochemical events, physiological processes, and behavioral implications of various diseases. For substance abuse and dependence, this research has enabled scientists to gain a greater understanding of the neurochemical events involved in the brain's response to drugs, both licit and illicit, and to provide a means by which to design and test novel pharmaco-therapeutic interventions. To enable these discoveries, scientists have developed numerous animal models that attempt to replicate human drug addiction. The current review explores two popular Pavlovian conditioning procedures, conditioned place preference and conditioned taste aversion, which are used to investigate the rewarding and aversive effects (respectively) of drugs of abuse. For each procedure, a brief history of the field is followed by the advantages of the procedures and a step-by-step explanation of each procedure's conditioning protocol.

Nervous system diseases and disorders are highly prevalent and substantially contribute to the overall disease burden. Despite significant information provided by the use of animal models in the understanding of the biology of nervous system disorders and the development of therapeutics; limitations have also been identified. Treatment options that are high in efficacy and low in side effects are still lacking for many diseases and, in some cases are nonexistent. A particular problem in drug development is the high rate of attrition in Phase II and III clinical trials. Why do many therapeutics show promise in preclinical animal models but then fail to elicit predicted effects when tested in humans? On March 28 and 29, 2012, the Institute of Medicine Forum on Neuroscience and Nervous System Disorders convened the workshop "Improving Translation of Animal Models for Nervous System Disorders" to discuss potential opportunities for maximizing the translation of new therapies from animal models to clinical practice. The primary focus of the workshop was to examine mechanisms for increasing the efficiency of translational neuroscience research through discussions about how and when to use animal models most effectively and then best approaches for the interpretation of the data collected. Specifically, the workshop objectives were to: discuss key issues that contribute to poor translation of animal models in nervous system disorders, examine case studies that highlight successes and failures in the development and application of animal models, consider strategies to increase the scientific rigor of preclinical efficacy testing, explore the benefits and challenges to developing standardized animal and behavioral models. Improving the Utility and Translation of Animal Models for Nervous System Disorders: Workshop Summary also identifies methods to facilitate development of corresponding animal and clinical endpoints, indentifies methods that would maximize bidirectional translation between basic and clinical research and determines the next steps that will be critical for improvement of the development and testing of animal models of disorders of the nervous system.

Using the most well-studied behavioral analyses of animal subjects to promote a better understanding of the effects of disease and the effects of new therapeutic treatments on human cognition, Methods of Behavior Analysis in Neuroscience provides a reference manual for molecular and cellular research scientists in both academia and the pharmaceutic