001-0.3 mg/kg/inj.). Blood samples were collected after test sessions to determine 17 beta-estradiol levels. Banana-flavored food pellets were available on an FR 30 schedule in three

1-h sessions each day. Five monkeys were trained to discriminate cocaine (0.18 mg/kg, i.m.) from saline in a two-key food-reinforced procedure, and the effects of pretreatment with E-2 beta in cyclodextrin and in sesame oil were studied. Acute administration of E-2 beta did not consistently alter the cocaine self-administration or drug discrimination dose-effect curves in comparison to selleck inhibitor saline control treatment. Females also did not self-administer E-2 beta (0.00001-0.10 mg/kg, i.v.) above saline levels. Finally, E-2 beta (0.0001-0.01 mg/kg, i.m.) did not substitute for cocaine in monkeys trained to discriminate cocaine from saline. Taken together, these data suggest that over the dose range studied, estradiol administration does not consistently alter the abuse-related effects selleck screening library of cocaine in female rhesus monkeys.”
“Chronic exposure to cocaine is associated with neuroadaptions in stress and reward circuits that may increase susceptibility to relapse. We examined whether there are alterations in stress response and craving in abstinent cocaine-dependent individuals compared with a demographically matched group of non-addicted

socially drinking community controls. Forty treatment-engaged abstinent cocaine patients (17F/23M) and 40 controls (19F/21M) were exposed to a brief 5 min guided imagery of individually calibrated stressful situations, personal drug/alcohol-related

situation and a neutral-relaxing situation, one imagery per session, presented in random order. Craving, anxiety, emotion Fluocinolone acetonide rating scales, and physiological measures were assessed. Cocaine patients reported significantly higher and more persistent stress- and cue-induced drug/alcohol craving, negative emotions, and physiological responses compared with social drinkers. In cocaine patients, stress- and cue-induced drug craving was accompanied by increased anger, fear, sadness, heart rate, and SBP. Controls reported minimal stress- induced craving and only increases in anxiety and SBP during stress exposure. Cue-induced alcohol craving was accompanied only by an increase in relaxed state. Females reported increased stress- induced anxiety and sadness compared with males, while males were emotionally and physiologically more reactive in the cue condition. These findings are the first to document functional alterations in stress- and reward-related affect and physiology in recently abstinent cocaine patients that is marked by an enhanced sensitivity to stress- and drug-related cue exposure. These data suggest that recovery from chronic cocaine abuse could be hampered by a hyper-responsive stress- and drug-craving state that increases cocaine relapse susceptibility.