Effort as a dimension of spontaneous activity in rats.

Studied the relationship between effort and voluntary activity in a braked running wheel and a voluntary treadmill. 3 experiments were conducted with a total of 60 male Sprague-Dawley rats. Effort was manipulated by varying the torque required to turn the wheel and by changing the angle of inclination of the treadmill. In both situations distance run was a linear decreasing function of effort, and work accomplished was a nonmonotonic increasing function of effort. Findings are discussed in relation to responsivity and regulatory views of the genesis of spontaneous activity. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Addiction is a brain disease, and it matters

Scientific advances over the past 20 years have shown that drug addiction is a chronic, relapsing disease that results from the prolonged effects of drugs on the brain. As with many other brain diseases, addiction has embedded behavioral and social-context aspects that are important parts of the disorder itself. Therefore, the most effective treatment approaches will include biological, behavioral, and social-context components. Recognizing addiction as a chronic, relapsing brain disorder characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use can impact society's overall health and social policy strategies and help diminish the health and social costs associated with drug abuse and addiction.     

Understanding drug addiction: implications for treatment

The addicted brain is qualitatively different from the nonaddicted brain, in ways that include glucose use, gene expression, and responsiveness to environmental cues. Such discoveries place researchers in the early but hopeful stages of translating fundamental findings into new treatments that address the neurobiologic basis of drug craving--even for cocaine, against which there are currently no pharmacologic interventions.     

Introduction to the special issue: The National Institute on Drug Abuse's (NIDA's) Drug Abuse Treatment Outcome Study (DATOS).

Seven of the articles in this special issue of Psychology & Addictive Behaviors compose the 1st comprehensive look at an important collaborative research endeavor of the National Inst on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the Drug Abuse Treatment Outcome Study (DATOS). This introduction highlights some of the key findings of DATOS that are reported in this special issue. Also highlighted are areas that future DATOS studies should help illuminate about the effectiveness of drug abuse treatment as it is typically practiced. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of experience on agonistic responding: an expectancy theory interpretation

The mammary glands of ten still-birth premature fetuses were studied histologically. In seven cases a combination of oestrogen-progesterone preparations were administered to the mother in early pregnancy for a duration of at least 3 months. In three cases no hormones were administered. According to our observations and the experimental work of other investigators, we may conclude that oestrogenic hormones inhibit the development of the mammary gland.     

National Institute on Drug Abuse's behavioral research agenda.

Basic behavioral research continues to play an integral role in the National Institute on Drug Abuse's (NIDA's) search for solutions to the complex social and public health problems posed by drug abuse and addiction. Along with NIDA's basic molecular and neuroscience research programs, behavioral research has played an important role in increasing clinician's understanding of the mechanisms and processes that underlie addiction. Much has been learned about the ways in which animals and humans respond to their environment and the role these basic behavioral processes play in drug abuse and other drug-abuse-related phenomena, such as withdrawal, craving, and relapse, but there is still much more to be known. The author discusses how NIDA will continue to build and promote its behavioral research agenda and ensure that behavioral research findings are applied in real-life settings when applicable. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Extended iSelf: The Impact of iPhone Separation on Cognition,Emotion, and Physiology

This study uniquely examined the effects on self, cognition, anxiety, and physiology when iPhone users are unable to answer their iPhone while performing cognitive tasks. A 2 x 2 within‐subjects experiment was conducted. Participants (N = 40 iPhone users) completed 2 word search puzzles. Among the key findings from this study were that when iPhone users were unable to answer their ringing iPhone during a word search puzzle, heart rate and blood pressure increased, self‐reported feelings of anxiety and unpleasantness increased, and self‐reported extended self and cognition decreased. These findings suggest that negative psychological and physiological outcomes are associated with iPhone separation and the inability to answer one's ringing iPhone during cognitive tasks. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

The power of science in furthering professional practice: Opportunities for those with vision.

Describes initiatives within the National Institutes of Health and within the military to use behavioral, cognitive, psychological, and applied psychophysiological research findings to improve clinical intervention with a vast array of health problems, including substance abuse. Psychologists in the military are leading new initiatives to deal with the problems of obesity, physical pain, headaches, environmental effects, and the full range of physical health and mental health problems. (0 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Experimental and clinical psychopharmacology: National Institute on Drug Abuse's clinical research agenda.

Studies of drugs and behavior are a core component of virtually every portfolio within the broad purview of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Moreover, psychopharmacological research is an important vehicle for advancing understanding of how drugs of abuse produce their effects, particularly including addiction. However, as with all major public health issues, simply understanding the issue is not enough. NIDA's psychopharmacology projects, therefore, span basic, clinical, and applied (e.g., medication development) research activities. These include the establishment of a nationwide clinical trials network designed to provide an infrastructure to test both behavioral and psychopharmacological treatments in a real-life practice setting with diverse patients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)