A review of human drug self-administration procedures

Abstract

Drug self-administration procedures in laboratory settings allow us to closely model drug-taking behavior in real-world settings. This review provides an overview of many of the common self-administration methods used in human laboratory research. Typically, self-administration studies provide a quantifiable measure of the reinforcing effect of a drug, which is believed to be predictive of its potential for abuse. Several adaptations of the self-administration paradigm exist, the simplest of which allows participants free access to the drug under investigation. Free-access procedures allow investigators to observe patterns of drug self-administration and drug effects in a controlled setting. Allowing participants to choose between two simultaneously available reinforcers (choice procedures) is another well-established method of assessing the reinforcing effects of a drug. Offering a choice between two reinforcers (e.g. two different doses of the same drug, two different drugs, or drug and nondrug reinforcers) provides researchers with a point of comparison (e.g. between a drug of known abuse potential and a novel drug). When combined with other endpoints, such as subjective effects ratings, physiological responses, and cognitive performance, human self-administration paradigms have contributed significantly to our understanding of the factors that contribute to, maintain, and alter drug-taking behavior including: craving, positive subjective effects, toxicity, drug interactions and abstinence. This area of research has also begun to incorporate other techniques such as imaging and genetics to further understand the multifaceted nature of substance abuse. The present paper summarizes the different self-administration techniques that are commonly used today and the application of other procedures that may complement interpretation of the drug

Glial and neuroinflammatory targets for treating substance use disorders

“…In clinical laboratory studies, abuse potential is typically quantified using self-administration procedures to assess the potential of the drug to serve as a reinforcer, or by using self-report measurements of the positive subjective effects of the drug (Jasinski, 1977; Jones and Comer, 2013). The ability of a medication to reduce the self-administration of an addictive substance or attenuate its positive subjective effects in clinical laboratory studies is typically predictive of its treatment potential outside of the laboratory (Comer et al, 2012, 2010).…”

Maintenance on naltrexone + amphetamine decreases cocaine-vs.-food choice in male rhesus monkeys

“…The choice procedure was chosen for three primary reasons (Banks and Negus, 2012, 2017; Czoty et al, 2016; Heyman, 2009; Jones and Comer, 2013). First, drug choice procedures provide a dependent measure of drug reinforcement (i.e., percent drug choice) that is relatively independent of treatment effects on overall rates of responding or reinforcement.…”

Evaluation of the “Pipeline” for Development of Medications for Cocaine Use Disorder: A Review of Translational Preclinical, Human Laboratory, and Clinical Trial Research

“…This approach frequently provides a single outcome with purportedly better predictive validity for intervention efficacy (Comer et al, 2008;Haney and Spealman, 2008). Although a number of behavioral arrangements and schedules of reinforcement have been used in a manner comparable to that described above for laboratory animals, subjects typically first sample a dose of drug and are then given the opportunity to work to earn that dose, or portions of that dose, again (for a review, see Jones and Comer, 2013).…”