Effects of a cue associated with cocaine or food reinforcers on extinction and postextinction return of behavior.

Studies of instrumental responding often include the delivery of a cue that is coincident with the delivery of the reinforcer. One purpose of this is for the cue to be removed during extinction and then presented later to assess whether responding returns (cue-induced reinstatement). In two experiments, we examined the effects of having a cue associated with reinforcement present or absent during extinction.

Associations between self-reported cannabis use frequency, potency, and cannabis/health metrics.

Background: Research shows that cannabis use frequency is associated with cannabis dependence and health metrics. However, much less is known about how self-reported cannabis potency (THC and CBD) may be associated with the same metrics, and whether any associations exist after accounting for frequency of cannabis use. Moreover, even less is known about how these relations may differ across cannabis product forms.

Experience of migraine, its severity, and perceived efficacy of treatments among cannabis users.

Objectives: As the legal and cultural landscape surrounding cannabis use in the United States continues to evolve, more Americans are turning to cannabis to self-medicate a number of ailments, including migraines. The purpose of the present study was to examine patterns of cannabis use and its associated relief among migraineurs.

Design: Participants were N = 589 adult cannabis users living in states with full legal access.

Cannabis use and sleep: Expectations, outcomes, and the role of age.

Study Objectives: Determine relationship between cannabis use with 1) expectations of cannabis being a sleep aid, 2) subjective sleep outcomes, and 3) the influence of age on these relationships.

Methods: In 152 moderate cannabis users with a wide age range (67% female, mean age = 31.45, SD = 12.

Effects of a histone deacetylase 3 inhibitor on extinction and reinstatement of cocaine self-administration in rats.

Rationale: A challenge in treating substance use disorder is that successful treatment often does not persist, resulting in relapse and continued drug seeking. One approach to persistently weaken drug-seeking behaviors is to pair exposure to drug-associated cues or behaviors with delivery of a compound that may strengthen the inhibition of the association between drug cues and behavior.

Objectives: We evaluated whether a selective histone deacetylase 3 (HDAC3) inhibitor could promote extinction and weaken contextual control of operant drug seeking after intravenous cocaine self-administration.

Involvement of the dorsal hippocampus in expression and extinction of cocaine-induced conditioned place preference.

A key aspect of substance abuse is that drug taking often occurs in a specific context. As a consequence, exposure to drug-associated contexts can trigger cravings and relapse, even after long periods of abstinence. Although many studies have demonstrated that the hippocampus is critical for developing and retrieving contextual and spatial memories, comparatively little is known about the role of the hippocampus in acquiring and inhibiting memories involving contexts and drugs of abuse.

Visuomotor Correction is a Robust Contributor to Force Variability During Index Finger Abduction by Older Adults.

We examined aging-related differences in the contribution of visuomotor correction to force fluctuations during index finger abduction via the analysis of two datasets from similar subjects. Study (1) Young (N = 27, 23 ± 8 years) and older adults (N = 14, 72 ± 9 years) underwent assessment of maximum voluntary contraction force (MVC) and force steadiness during constant-force (CF) index finger abduction (2.5, 30, 65% MVC).

Postural Steadiness and Ankle Force Variability in Peripheral Neuropathy.

Introduction: The purpose was to determine the effect of peripheral neuropathy (PN) on motor output variability for ankle muscles of older adults, and the relation between ankle motor variability and postural stability in PN patients.

Methods: Older adults with (O-PN) and without PN (O), and young adults (Y) underwent assessment of standing postural stability and ankle muscle force steadiness.

Results: O-PN displayed impaired ankle muscle force control and postural stability compared with O and Y groups.

Histone-mediated epigenetics in addiction.

Many of the brain regions, neurotransmitter systems, and behavioral changes that occur after occasional drug use in healthy subjects and after chronic drug abuse in addicted patients are well characterized. An emerging literature suggests that epigenetic processes, those processes that regulate the accessibility of DNA to regulatory proteins within the nucleus, are keys to how addiction develops and how it may be treated. Investigations of the regulation of chromatin, the organizational system of DNA, by histone modification are leading to a new understanding of the cellular and behavioral alterations that occur after drug use.

Cue configuration effects in acquisition and extinction of a cocaine-induced place preference.

A pervasive finding in animal models of substance abuse is that associations form quickly between contexts and drugs of abuse, such as cocaine. Studies of conditioned place preference (CPP) demonstrate that animals approach cues previously paired with cocaine. This is a commonly used preparation, but the configuration of the CPP apparatus differs across laboratories.

Comparative distribution of central neuropeptide Y (NPY) in the prairie (Microtus ochrogaster) and meadow (M. pennsylvanicus) vole.

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) has been implicated as a modulator of social behavior, often in a species-specific manner. Comparative studies of closely related vole species are particularly useful for identifying neural systems involved in social behaviors in both voles and humans. In the present study, immunohistochemistry was performed to compare NPY-like immunoreactivity (-ir) in brain tissue of the socially monogamous prairie vole and non-monogamous meadow vole.