Binge Drug Taking

The act of bingeing represents the culmination of a potentially abusive behavioral routine, and underscores the beginning of an addiction cycle. Experimental binges provide a valid model for examining aspects of the gradual progression from drug use to abuse, particularly when attempting to identify environmental and genetic factors that may prompt intermittent behavioral routines to become dysregulated, as exemplified during cycles of bingeing. Here we explore binge behavior in animals with a particular focus on data obtained from self-administration studies that utilize conditions that allow for both unrestricted and prolonged access to cocaine, opiates, alcohol or food. Many behavioral and neural effects of bingeing are shared between these substances, indicating that the repetitive nature of binge behavior for many types of drug abuse may be related to the dysregulation of common neural circuits. Interestingly, intense bingeing occurs with the emergence of two potential changes in behavior; an increase in the rate or an increase in the persistence of behavioral responding. These two changes indicate that control over bingeing may be determined by a number of processes, including sensitization, tolerance, and withdrawal.