Behavioral and Biochemical Issues in Substance Abuse

This excellent book is a concise yet thorough examination of the important and emerging field of the study of biological risk factors in drug abuse. Historically, drug abuse research has concentrated on the contributions of environmental and behavioral factors as the major influences on addiction. The revelatory studies in this volume examine the genetic contributions to drug taking behavior through the use of animal models, cellular experiments and human clinical studies. Behavioral and Biochemical Issues in Substance Abuse provides for the first time in one volume, up-to-date, easily digested reviews of topics concerning biological and genetic factors in drug abuse. Medical researchers in all areas of alcoholism and drug abuse, researchers in pharmacology, psychology, psychiatry and neuroscience, and clinicians interested in biological approaches to alcoholism and drug abuse problems will benefit greatly from this valuable resource. Authoritative contributors clearly demonstrate the capability of genetic factors to modulate the reinforcing or rewarding effects of drugs, thereby altering their addictive potential. In addition to gaining comprehension of the biological factors affecting addiction, a greater understanding of genetics related to drug abuse will enable future research to control biological factors, leading to more accurate studies of behavioral and environmental influences on drug and alcohol abuse.

Contents
Genetic Selections for Nicotine and Cocaine Sensitivity in Mice

• Where Are the mu Receptors That Mediate Opioid Analgesia? An Autoradiographic Study in the HAR and LAR Selection Lines
• Behavioral and Neurochemical Studies in Dizepam-Sensitive and -Resistant Mice
• Animal Models for the Study of Alcoholism: Utility of Selected Lines
• Use of Recombinant Inbred Strains to Assess Vulnerability to Drug Abuse at the Genetic Level
• The Use of Recombinant Inbred Strains to Study Mechanisms of Drug Action
• Progress Towards the Development of Animal Models of Smoking-Related Behaviors
• Is There a Common Biological Basis for Reinforcement From Alcohol and Other Drugs?
• Genetic Determinants of Susceptibility to the Rewarding and Other Behavioral Actions of Cocaine
• Issues Surrounding the Assessment of the Genetic Determinants of Drugs as Reinformcing Stimuli (John M. Carney, Meng-Shan Cheng, Cao Wu, and Thomas W. Seale)
• Establishment of Drug Discrimination and Drug Reinforcement in Different Animal Strains: Some Methodological Issues
• Biochemical Genetic Differences in Vulnerability to Drug Effects: Is Statistically Significant Always Physiologically Important and Vice Versa
• Genetic Influences in Human Substance Abuse
• Methodological Issues in Genetic Studies of Human Substance Abuse
• The Use of Nonneuronal Cells as an In Vitro Model System for Studying the Genetic Component of Cellular Response to Opiates and Other Drugs of Abuse
• Selective Guide to Current Reference Sources on Topics Discussed in this Volume
• Behavioral and Biochemical Issues in Substance Abuse
• Reference Notes Included