Lever-press duration as a measure of frustration in sucrose and drug reinforcement.

Rationale: Currently there is little research into the role of frustration in substance use disorders despite research showing that frustration tolerance in humans is associated with a lower likelihood of developing substance use problems, better outcomes in recovery, and fewer relapses.

Objective: In order to address this need, our studies use a rat model to focus on frustration-related behavior in natural reward and addiction-related behavioral procedures. Frustration is defined as when a subject is unable to achieve a reinforcer, receives less of a reinforcer than anticipated, or has to work harder to achieve a reinforcer.