Joan M. Wertz

A Review of the Effects of Perceived Drug Use Opportunity on Self-Reported Urge

Although persons addicted to drugs reliably report experiencing cravings or urges during drug cue exposure, less is known about factors that may moderate this effect. This article reviews cue exposure studies with people who smoke, are dependent on alcohol, or are addicted to cocaine or opiates. Perceived drug use opportunity is found to affect urge ratings. Specifically, people who are addicted to substances and who perceive an opportunity to consume their drug of choice report higher urges than do those who do not anticipate being able to use the drug. This factor was proposed to explain why those in treatment for substance dependence report urges that are about half the strength of those in nontreatment settings. The impact of perceived drug use opportunity on urge is considered from a variety of perspectives, including conditioning theories, a cognitive appraisal framework, and motivated reasoning theory. Conceptual and methodological implications of perceived drug use opportunity are addressed.

A PSYCHOMETRIC EVALUATION OF THE FACIAL ACTION CODING SYSTEM FOR ASSESSING SPONTANEOUS EXPRESSION

The Facial Action Coding System (FACS) (Ekman & Friesen, 1978) is a comprehensive and widely used method of objectively describing facial activity. Little is known, however, about inter-observer reliability in coding the occurrence, intensity, and timing of individual FACS action units. The present study evaluated the reliability of these measures. Observational data came from three independent laboratory studies designed to elicit a wide range of spontaneous expressions of emotion. Emotion challenges included olfactory stimulation, social stress, and cues related to nicotine craving. Facial behavior was video-recorded and independently scored by two FACS-certified coders. Overall, we found good to excellent reliability for the occurrence, intensity, and timing of individual action units and for corresponding measures of more global emotion-specified combinations.

Effects of smoking opportunity on attentional bias in smokers.

The emotional Stroop task was used to examine the influence of opportunity to smoke on attentional bias to smoking-related stimuli. At the outset of the study, 92 nicotine-deprived smokers were told that they (a) would, (b) would not, or (c) might be able to smoke during the experiment. Next, participants completed an emotional Stroop task, in which they were presented with smoking-related or -unrelated words in an unblocked format. Smokers demonstrated interference to the smoking words, relative to matched neutral words, F(1, 87) = 18.0, p < .0001. Moreover, smoking opportunity affected the degree of interference, F(2, 87) = 4.35, p < .02, with participants who had been told they would be able to smoke during the study showing the most interference. The results suggest that smoking opportunity affects the salience of smoking-related stimuli among nicotine-deprived smokers.

The Effects of Alcohol on Cigarette Craving in Heavy Smokers and Tobacco Chippers

The authors examined the effects of alcohol consumption on cigarette craving in heavy smokers and tobacco chippers (n = 138) who were instructed not to smoke for 12 hr. Participants were exposed to both smoking cues (a lit cigarette) and control cues. Half received a moderate dose of alcohol, adjusted for gender, and half received a placebo. Results indicated that alcohol consumption produced an increase in urge-to-smoke ratings before smoking cue exposure. Moreover, during cue exposure, alcohol consumption produced a sharper increase in urge ratings than did the placebo. In addition, during smoking cue exposure, alcohol increased the likelihood of displaying facial expressions associated with positive affect. These findings suggest that alcohol consumption influences both the magnitude and the emotional valence of cigarette cravings.

5-HT1A and 5-HT1C/1D receptor agonists produce reciprocal effects on male sexual behavior of rhesus monkeys

Research has indicated that serotonin (5-HT) is involved in regulating male sexual behavior in rodent, as well as primate species. The present study was designed to further characterize 5-HT influences on male sexual behavior of rhesus monkeys. Experiment 1 examined the effects of 5-HT1A and 5-HT1C/1D receptor stimulation on penile erections and yawning behavior. Administration of the 5-HT1C/1D receptor agonist, m-chlorophenylpiperazine (m-CPP, 0.8 and 3.0 mg/kg), facilitated the occurrence of penile erection, and at doses greater than 0.2 mg/kg stimulated yawning. By contrast, the 5-HT1A receptor agonist, 8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin (8-OH-DPAT, 0.01-0.2 mg/kg) did not significantly influence penile erections or yawning behavior. Experiment 2 evaluated the effects of m-CPP and 8-OH-DPAT on the behavior of male monkeys in the presence of a sexually receptive female monkey which the males could see, hear and smell, but not physically contact. Administration of m-CPP along with presentation of a receptive female stimulated penile erections to a greater extent than they were stimulated by either one of these manipulations alone. Administration of 8-OH-DPAT (0.1 and 0.2 mg/kg) produced a decrease in the percent of monkeys exhibiting penile erections in the presence of the female. In this experiment, yawning was affected in opposite directions, with m-CPP stimulating and 8-OH-DPAT decreasing the frequency of yawning. Experiment 3 assessed the effects of m-CPP on male copulatory behavior of rhesus monkeys. Administration of m-CPP (0.8-3.0 mg/kg) produced a dose-dependent decline in the percent of males initiating copulation and achieving ejaculation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Serotonergic influences on male sexual behavior of rhesus monkeys: effects of serotonin agonists

Although numerous studies in rats have demonstrated an influence of serotonin (5-HT) on male copulation, no studies have yet to demonstrate whether such a relationship exists in primate species. The present study sought to characterize 5-HT influences on male copulatory behavior of rhesus monkeys by using three different 5-HT agonists: a full 5-HT1A agonist, 8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin (8-OH-DPAT); a partial 5-HT1A agonist, ipsapirone; and a 5-HT1C/1D agonist, m-chlorophenylpiperazine (m-CPP). 8-OH-DPAT had a biphasic effect upon ejaculation latency, with low doses (5–10 µg/kg) producing a shortening of ejaculation latency (time from initiation of copulation to ejaculation), and the highest dose (100 µg/kg) producing a lengthening of ejaculation latency. Intromission frequency (number of intromissions preceding ejaculation) was affected only at 10 µg/kg 8-OH-DPAT with monkeys requiring fewer intromissions to ejaculation at this dose. Ipsapirone administration led to a shortening of ejaculation latency at all doses tested (50–800 µg/kg), and a reduction in intromission frequency at 200–800 µg/kg ipsapirone. Administration of the 5-HT1C/1D agonist, m-CPP, resulted in an increase in ejaculation latency at 200–400 µg/kg m-CPP and mount latency at 400 µg/kg m-CPP, but did not affect intromission frequency. In summary, stimulation of 5-HT1A receptors lowered the ejaculatory threshold of the monkeys, while stimulation of 5-HT1C/1D receptors interfered with copulatory behavior and raised the ejaculatory threshold. These results provide evidence that copulatory behavior of rhesus monkeys is influenced by 5-HT receptor stimulation, however, the direction of the effect depends upon the subtype of 5-HT receptor being stimulated.

Parental alcoholism and the effects of alcohol on mediated semantic priming.

In this study, researchers tested the effects of a moderate dose of alcohol on the spread of activation of associated information in memory using a mediated semantic priming task in which target words are preceded by primes that are either unrelated or indirectly related to the target. Male and female participants with or without a parental history (PH+ and PH-, respectively) of alcoholism were administered the priming task after consuming alcohol or a placebo beverage. Among PH- individuals, alcohol constrained the spread of activation of associated information, as manifested by a reduced priming effect. In contrast, alcohol enhanced priming effects among PH+ participants, though this latter effect appears to be due to a particularly slow response among these individuals to unprimed words. Results are discussed with regard to theories of alcohols effects on cognitive processes.

Impairment of male copulatory behavior in rhesus monkeys following acute administration of cocaine

Although numerous studies in nonhuman primates have demonstrated an influence of cocaine on behavior, no studies have yet examined whether cocaine affects sexual behavior in nonhuman primates. The objective of the present study was to examine the acute effects of cocaine on male copulatory behavior of rhesus monkeys. Administration of cocaine produced dose-dependent effects on male copulatory behavior, with monkeys taking significantly longer to initiate copulation (mount latency) and achieve an ejaculation (ejaculation latency) after receiving 200-800 micrograms/kg cocaine. Male copulatory behavior was not affected by cocaine at doses below 200 micrograms/kg. These results indicate that cocaine can acutely impair sexual behavior performance of male rhesus monkeys. Further study is needed to determine the possible long-term consequences of chronic cocaine administration on male sexual behavior.