Preclinical Behavioral Approaches for Assessing the Reinforcing Properties of Drugs of Abuse

Drugs of abuse are remarkable in that they are capable of exerting powerful and persistent control over behavior. As such, it is not surprising that the distribution, acquisition, and consumption of drugs of abuse continues to pose a major social, economic, and medical problem affecting increasing segments of our society. This observation has lead researchers to pose the question: what are the properties of abused substances that give rise to the initiation, maintenance, and eventual relapse of drug taking behavior in humans? Over the past several decades, a number of behavioral techniques have been developed as research tools in order to address various issues related to drug abuse.