Substance Use Research Center

	Marian W. Fischman Cocaine Research Laboratory Director, Richard W. Foltin, Ph.D. Associate Director, Margaret Haney, Ph.D. Medical Director, Eric Rubin, M.D., Ph. D. Research conducted in this laboratory over the past 25 years has been aimed at understanding the behavioral and physiological effects of cocaine, alone and in combination with other drugs of abuse. Initial studies focussed on describing the reinforcing and subjective effects of intravenous and intranasal cocaine self-administration in humans. The research then shifted to looking at drug combinations and the effects of smoked cocaine in humans. Recent efforts have been aimed at understanding the binge cycle of cocaine use, sex differences in the response to cocaine, the effects of cocaine in individuals with comorbid psychiatric illnesses, and the development of medications for the treatment of cocaine abuse. The latter two areas are exciting because these studies provide information on both the neurochemical mechanism of action of cocaine, and the effects of long-term cocaine use on the brain. Training opportunities are available for physicians, psychologists and neuroscientists interesting in understanding the complex effects of cocaine and other stimulants on human behavior and physiology.
	Marijuana Outpatient Laboratory Director, Margaret Haney, Ph.D. Medical Director, Erik Gunderson, M.D. The focus of the marijuana outpatient laboratory is on characterizing the behavioral effects of cannabinoids, such as smoked marijuana or oral THC. The laboratory comprises three rooms equipped with computers, refrigerators and microwaves, and physiological monitoring equipment. Research volunteers are either current marijuana smokers or former marijuana smokers who participate on an outpatient basis. During laboratory sessions, a wide range of effects are measured, including food intake, subjective-effects, cognitive task performance, and physiological responses. Current research questions include (1) the effects of cannabinoids in HIV+ volunteers with clinically significant weight loss, and (2) the role of opioid receptors in mediating the effects of cannabinoids.
	Methamphetamine Research Laboratory (MARL) Carl Hart, Ph.D., Director Erik Gunderson, M.D., Medical Director Richard Foltin, Ph.D., Investigator Sandra Comer, Ph.D., Investigator The Methamphetamine Research Laboratory focuses on understanding the complex interactions between biological and environmental factors that mediate methamphetamine-associated behaviors, including drug taking and cognitive performance. A major focus of this laboratory is to evaluate the cardiovascular, subjective, and other behavioral effects of intranasal methamphetamine, correlating these effects with methamphetamine plasma levels. Then, we will use a laboratory model of drug self-administration to fully characterize the reinforcing effects of methamphetamine. Finally, we will evaluate the ability of potential treatment medications to modify the reinforcing and subjective effects of methamphetamine. Ultimately, data collected in these studies should contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of methamphetamine abuse and treatment.
	Neuropsychology Research Laboratory at SURC Nehal P. Vadhan, Ph.D., Director Richard W. Foltin, Ph.D., Investigator Gillinder Bedi, D.Psych, Investigator Margaret Haney, Ph.D., Investigator Kenneth M. Carpenter, Ph.D., Investigator The focus of the Neuropsychology Research Laboratory is to study the antecedent and consequent neuropsychological sequelae of substance use and abuse. This is accomplished by studies that examine: 1) the neuropsychological test performance of drug abusers, and controls with varying degrees of drug use (including nonuse), and 2) the acute effects of these substances on the same neurocognitive functions in similar participants. In collaboration with clinical investigators, we also conduct studies comparing neuropsychiatric functioning between drug-abusing treatment seekers and non-treatment seekers. Ultimately, these studies will help inform the debate over the cognitive effects of drugs of abuse, and may aid in understanding the treatment-seeking process in drug abusers. Current research questions include: 1) differences in neurocognitive functioning between short-term and long-term cocaine abusers; 2) the effects of reinforcement on cognitive performance, and the ecological validity of reinforced performance, in cocaine abusers; and 3) the acute effects of smoked marijuana in individuals at-risk for a psychiatric disorder.
	Nicotine Laboratory Director, Adam Bisaga, M.D. The focus of the Nicotine Laboratory is on the development of new medications through elucidating the neurobiology of tobacco addiction and the application of human laboratory models for smoking cessation and relapse. The inpatient laboratory consists of two rooms equipped with audio/video surveillance, computers, physiological monitoring equipment, and furniture to accommodate participants during overnight sessions. Research volunteers are smokers who currently meet diagnostic criteria for nicotine dependence but are not interested in treatment. Volunteers participate in one of the several research protocols that involve both inpatient stays and outpatient visits to the laboratory. Participants will complete tasks measuring the subjective and behavioral effects of nicotine, choice to smoke cigarettes, reactivity to cues, as well as measures of impulsivity and memory. Our research seeks to improve methods for screening new and existing medications in the treatment of tobacco addiction through the development of laboratory models of smoking cessation and relapse and the examination of the effects of new medications within these laboratory models.
	Opioid Laboratory Director, Sandra D. Comer, Ph.D. Medical Director, Maria Sullivan, M.D., Ph.D. The opioid laboratory, designed for the careful observation of behavior during the course of laboratory sessions, consists of four rooms equipped with computers and physiological monitoring equipment. Participants are either substance abusers who reside in the hospital to control for substance use during study participation or normal, healthy volunteers who participate in studies on an outpatient basis. During laboratory sessions, a wide range of effects are measured, including subjective, cognitive, and physiological responses. In addition, drug-taking behavior is also measured in many of our studies in order to examine both pharmacological and non-pharmacological variables that may influence the abuse liability of opioid drugs.
	Residential Laboratory Director, Carl L. Hart, Ph.D. Medical Director, Erik Gunderson, M.D. The residential laboratory, designed for continuous observation of human behavior over extended periods of time, provides a controlled environment with the flexibility to establish a range of behaviors, and the ability to monitor simultaneously many individual and social behavior patterns. This laboratory is equipped with a closed circuit television and audio system encompassing each individual chamber for surveillance and measurement purposes, and to provide continuous monitoring for the participant’s protection. We believe that this relatively naturalistic environment can best meet the challenge of modeling the workplace to predict the interaction between drug use and workplace variables. Because our participants live in our laboratory with minimal outside contact, we are able to evaluate multiple aspects of the effects of drugs on workplace productivity in the same individuals.
	Women’s Research Laboratory Director, Suzette M. Evans, Ph.D. Medical Director, Frances R. Levin, M.D. The Women’s Research Center is designed to assess vulnerability to anxiolytic and alcohol abuse in non-drug abusing women. Specifically, women with single or multiple risk factors are tested and compared to normal healthy controls that do not have any of the potential risk factors. A range of behavioral and quantitative electrophysiological (EEG) measures that may be associated with, and perhaps predict increased vulnerability for drug or alcohol abuse in women, are assessed. All of the sessions are conducted on an outpatient basis. During laboratory sessions, women are administered acute doses of drug and their response on a range of measures is assessed repeatedly throughout the session. Lastly, this laboratory has been addressing changes in response to drug administration, binge drinking behavior, and other behaviors including food craving and food intake across the menstrual cycle.