Evaluating drugs and their impacts is a key part of drug discovery research. It enables scientists to understand the mechanisms underlying particular drugs and contributes to developing safe and effective treatments for numerous health conditions and diseases.
Though difficult, analyzing drug temporal profiles is a common practice in drug discovery to monitor the relationship between the drug ingested and any adverse reactions or abnormal laboratory test results.1 An ideal method for assessing these profiles in rodent test subjects is using conditioned place preference (CPP) systems.
This article will explore how this works and the benefits it provides to drug discovery.
What are CPP systems?
CPP systems are employed to condition animals to associate a specific environment with a drug’s effects, leading to a preference for that environment. These systems can be manufactured in various designs and apparatuses to meet specific research needs. Floor textures and other contextual cues help establish the association between the drug and the environment.
Animals demonstrate a preference for the drug-paired environment during the conditioning phase by spending more time in it. Some CCP systems are sound-attenuated to block out any external sound that could distract the rodents, although not all systems include this feature.
Relapse in laboratory animals can be measured through drug-associated environmental cues that trigger drug-seeking behaviors and offer a deeper understanding of their responses to drug-related stimuli. By precisely measuring chamber entries and utilizing a database system, scientists can capture every movement of the subject, enabling accurate data analysis and interpretation.
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Assessing drug temporal profiles with a CPP
CPP is an important instrument in behavioral science, pharmacology, and neuroscience research. It allows scientists to assess the rewarding properties of drugs and investigate the mechanisms behind drug addiction.
Scientists have studied morphine’s rewarding properties by utilizing CPP systems. In this study, rodents were administered morphine, placed in a CPP environment, and monitored to measure the drug’s temporal profile and understand its affective properties.
CPP has also been used to examine the incubation of craving phenomenon in drugs such as cocaine, providing insights into changes within the nucleus accumbens.
Benefits of CPP in drug studies
CPP systems offer numerous advantages for drug research. They enable scientists to evaluate drug temporal profiles, which shed light on the pattern of rewarding and aversive effects. CPP also aids in assessing the psychoactive properties of drugs in animals. This system’s versatility enables scientists to examine dose-dependent differences and explore the impact of drug administration timing and dosing.
San Diego Instruments’ place preference systems
San Diego Instruments’ Place Preference System is a user-friendly, powerful, and intuitive tool for monitoring the motivational impacts of objects or stimuli on test animals.
It employs a 4×16 photobeam array to log when an animal enters the chamber and how long it remains there. The system accurately records and reports standard activity data, including ambulation, fine movements, and time-stamped (x,y) positions.
This unit connects easily via USB, allowing scientists to run the system using laptops or computers. The CPP stores all study results in a single file format, eliminating the need to manage multiple files when exporting data.
The system’s testing enclosure features clear acrylic walls, offering flexibility for attaching various cues. Its removable floors allow researchers to build custom floors from different materials to meet specific study requirements. Long-lasting, heat-free LED ceiling lights ensure optimal lighting conditions, while manually operated doors allow unobstructed pathways for subjects to move between chambers.
References and further reading:
- Gliklich, R.E., Dreyer, N.A. and Leavy, M.B. (2014). Adverse Event Detection, Processing, and Reporting. [online] Nih.gov. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK208615/.
- Bernardi, R.E., et al. (2009). Modafinil reinstates a cocaine conditioned place preference following extinction in rats. Behavioural Brain Research, 204(1), pp.250–253. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2009.05.028.
About San Diego Instruments, Inc.
For more than 30 years, San Diego Instruments has served the scientific community as a comprehensive resource for the design, manufacture and distribution of behavioral neuroscience research instruments used in human and animal studies. Utilized in laboratories and cited in research papers worldwide, SDI systems have come to represent the industry standard for quality and longevity. Our premier SR-LAB™ is the world’s most widely used startle response system. At SDI, our commitment to developing quality products that stand the test of time is matched only our dedication to excellent customer service. We take pride in our ever-growing core of loyal clientele.
SDI behavioral neuroscience research systems afford you the utmost in quality and performance, giving you the edge in an industry where Power, Flexibility and Ease of Use are everything.
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