Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology 

About: Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology is an academic journal published by American Psychological Association. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Nicotine & Medicine. It has an ISSN identifier of 1064-1297. Over the lifetime, 1661 publications have been published receiving 62623 citations. The journal is also known as: Psychopharmacology.

Comparative epidemiology of dependence on tobacco, alcohol, controlled substances, and inhalants: Basic findings from the National Comorbidity Survey.

Abstract: Studying prevalence of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (3rd ed., rev., American Psychiatric Association, 1987) drug dependence among Americans 15-54 years old, we found about 1 in 4 (24%) had a history of tobacco dependence; about 1 in 7 (14%) had a history of alcohol dependence; and about 1 in 13 (7.5%) had a history of dependence on an inhalant or controlled drug. About one third of tobacco smokers had developed tobacco dependence and about 15% of drinkers had become alcohol dependent. Among users of the other drugs, about 15% had become dependent. Many more Americans age 15-54 have been affected by dependence on psychoactive substances than by other psychiatric disturbances now accorded a higher priority in mental health service delivery systems, prevention, and sponsored research programs. The aim of this article is to report basic descriptive findings from new research on the epidemiology of drug dependence syndromes, conducted as part of the National Comorbidity Survey (NCS). In this study, our research team secured a nationally representative sample and applied standardized diagnostic assessments in a way that allows direct comparisons across prevalence estimates and cor

Impulsive and self-control choices in opioid-dependent patients and non-drug-using control patients: Drug and monetary rewards.

Abstract: Delay discounting was investigated in opioid-dependent and non-drug-using control participants. The latter participants were matched to the former on age, gender, education, and IQ. Participants in both groups chose between hypothetical monetary rewards available either immediately or after a delay. Delayed rewards were $1,000, and the immediate-reward amount was adjusted until choices reflected indifference. This procedure was repeated at each of 7 delays (1 week to 25 years). Opioid-dependent participants were given a second series of choices between immediate and delayed heroin, using the same procedures (i.e., the amount of delayed heroin was that which could be purchased with $1,000). Opioid-dependent participants discounted delayed monetary rewards significantly more than did non-drug-using participants. Furthermore opioid-dependent participants discounted delayed heroin significantly more than delayed money.

Hyperbolic temporal discounting in social drinkers and problem drinkers.

Abstract: Two studies compared participants, distinguished by their typical alcohol consumption, on the degree to which they discounted the value of delayed, hypothetical amounts of money. Heavy social drinkers in Study 1 and problem drinkers in Study 2 both showed greater temporal discounting than light social drinkers; this difference was stronger in Study 2. Both studies found that a hyperbolic function described temporal discounting more accurately than an exponential function. These results are consistent with extending behavioral theories of intertemporal choice to characterize the determinants of alcohol consumption. The discounting differences also are consistent with more general behavioral economic and economic theories of addiction, although the hyperbolic functional form is inconsistent with the exponential discounting function in economic theory. The drinker groups also differed on impulsiveness and time orientation questionnaires, with light drinkers being less impulsive and more future oriented; however, these measures were not strongly correlated with the measure of temporal discounting. Language: en

Delay discounting of real and hypothetical rewards.

Abstract: The degree to which real and hypothetical rewards were discounted across delays ranging from 6 hr to 1 year was explored in a within-subjects design. An adjusting-amounts procedure was used to estimate the subjective value of real and hypothetical rewards at each delay. A hyperbolic discounting function provided a significantly better fit to individual participants' preferences than did an exponential function. No significant effect of reward type on degree of hyperbolic discounting or area under the discounting curves was detected. These findings offer some support for the validity of using hypothetical rewards to estimate discounting rates in substance-abusing and other populations, but caution is suggested because this support is gleaned from a failure to detect an effect of reward type.

Opioids and the treatment of chronic pain: controversies, current status, and future directions.

Abstract: Opioids have been regarded for millennia as among the most effective drugs for the treatment of pain. Their use in the management of acute severe pain and chronic pain related to advanced medical illness is considered the standard of care in most of the world. In contrast, the long-term administration of an opioid for the treatment of chronic noncancer pain continues to be controversial. Concerns related to effectiveness, safety, and abuse liability have evolved over decades, sometimes driving a more restrictive perspective and sometimes leading to a greater willingness to endorse this treatment. The past several decades in the United States have been characterized by attitudes that have shifted repeatedly in response to clinical and epidemiological observations, and events in the legal and regulatory communities. The interface between the legitimate medical use of opioids to provide analgesia and the phenomena associated with abuse and addiction continues to challenge the clinical community, leading to uncertainty about the appropriate role of these drugs in the treatment of pain. This narrative review briefly describes the neurobiology of opioids and then focuses on the complex issues at this interface between analgesia and abuse, including terminology, clinical challenges, and the potential for new agents, such as buprenorphine, to influence practice.