Grants and Contracts Details
Description
There is considerable evidence for a co-morbid relationship between cocaine abuse and risky
sexual behavior. Clinical studies have shown a correlation between cocaine use and risky
sexual practices such as increased frequency, an increased number of partners, and
unprotected sex. These sexual practices have been linked to adverse health consequences
including high prevalence rates for sexually-transmitted diseases. Controlled preclinical studies
that utilize animal models have demonstrated that prior repeated exposure to cocaine enhances
sexual motivation and behavior. However, no parametric or systematic studies further
investigating the basic mechanisms underlying this relationship have been conducted. The goal
of the proposed experiments is to utilize an animal mode! whose sexual behavior system has
been well-studied, Japanese quail. In addition to the benefits of using quail to study sexual
behavior, the use of a visually-oriented species in studying drug effects may be of additional
relevance to studying human drug addiction. We currently have preliminary evidence in male
Japanese quail that preexposure to cocaine enhances sexual motivation. This finding ties in
well with clinical observations that indicate that cocaine use in humans may increase sexual
motivation, thereby increasing the likelihood of the occurrence of high-risk sexual behavior. The
overall working hypothesis of this proposal is that the magnitude of the sexual response
depends on several cocaine preexposure parameters including dose, amount of exposure, time
between exposures, and the withdrawal period before sexual behavior testing. Additionally, we
hypothesize that cocaine preexposure increases the resistance to extinction (harder to
eliminate) and facilitates the reacquisition of a sexual response that has been extinguished.
The proposed research has the potential to contribute to our understanding of cocaine
preexposure effects on sexual motivation using a visually-oriented animal model. For example,
in males, sexual motivation may be enhanced by prior cocaine exposure. Such an
enhancement might translate in humans as high risk or compulsive sexual behaviors such as
increased frequency of sexual activity, sex with multiple partners, and unprotected sex. These
risky sexual behaviors have been linked with considerable health consequences, such as the
transmission of HIV and hepatitis C. The goal of the proposed project is to contribute to
understanding underlying mechanisms of cocaine's effects on sexual motivation.
Status | Finished |
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Effective start/end date | 2/1/10 → 1/31/16 |
Funding
- National Institute on Drug Abuse: $874,503.00
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