Economic demand predicts addiction-like behavior and therapeutic efficacy of oxytocin in the rat
Abstract
Cocaine addiction is a major public health problem with no current pharmacotherapy approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. To accelerate discovery of treatments, we developed an animal model based on economics. Economics allows mathematical alignment of animal and human behavior, permitting more confident predictions of efficacy in addicts. Although economic models are strongly associated with addiction severity in humans, they have not yet been shown to be a marker of addiction in rats. In this report, we confirm that economic demand is strongly associated with addiction-like behavior in rats, and can predict the efficacy of a promising addiction therapy. Our findings indicate that this economic approach can be used to accelerate the development of novel addiction therapies.
- Publication:
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Science
- Pub Date:
- August 2014
- DOI:
- 10.1073/pnas.1406324111
- Bibcode:
- 2014PNAS..11111822B