Advancing addiction treatment: what can we learn from animal studies?

Substance addiction is a maladaptive behavior characterized by compulsive and uncontrolled self-administration of a substance (drug). Years of research indicate that addictive behavior is the result of complex interactions between the drug, the user, and the environment in which the drug is used; th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inILAR journal Vol. 53; no. 1; pp. 4 - 13
Main Authors Wu, Peter H, Schulz, Kalynn M
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England 01.01.2012
Subjects
Animals
Behavior, Addictive - physiopathology
Humans
Models, Animal
Substance-Related Disorders - physiopathology
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Summary:Substance addiction is a maladaptive behavior characterized by compulsive and uncontrolled self-administration of a substance (drug). Years of research indicate that addictive behavior is the result of complex interactions between the drug, the user, and the environment in which the drug is used; therefore, addiction cannot simply be attributed to the neurobiological actions of a drug. However, despite the obvious complexity of addictive behavior, animal models have both advanced understanding of addiction and contributed importantly to the development of medications to treat this disease. We briefly review recent animal models used to study drug addiction and the contribution of data generated by these animal models for the clinical treatment of addictive disorders.
ISSN:1084-2020
1930-6180
DOI:10.1093/ilar.53.1.4